Page 168 of Filthy Royal

“Explain.”

“Crex can’t walk without excruciating pain, and it messed with his eyes too. He looks… odd.”

Damien recalled the description of the assistant from the driver’s interrogation. Now it made better sense.

It was some justice, but not enough. Soon, though, Crex would be feeling even more pain. Then none at all.

Damien could not wait to wipe him from the galaxy, right alongside Darvish and whoever else was out to hurt his omega and his family.

“Who else do we need to worry about, Scarlett?”

“I don’t know his identity, but there’s definitely another main player.” Her frustration was almost palpable. “I tried to find out so many times, but he’s elusive. He never showed his face. He only ever listened in on Darvish’s conversations with me. But I can tell it’s someone Darvish relies on, maybe even respects. Darvish is the one calling the shots, but when Darvish speaks to this other Alpha, it’s with a deference that I’ve never heard when he’s talking to anyone else.”

“We’ll find him. All of them.” Damien had no doubt. “Tell me more about what you know of Darvish’s plans so we can do exactly that.”

Scarlett gave a determined nod and sat up taller, her wet palms back on him, just as he liked. “As Kadon’s prime omega, I was given greater access to dome tech, and Darvish exploited this for his own purposes. He used me to set up marks like Prince Jai and win as much as possible for the house. Then”—she swallowed hard— “after every main fight, I was summoned to his private suite and, while they held a taser to Luc’s temple, forced to use my eye scan and blood to withdraw a substantial portion of those winnings and move them off-planet into untraceable accounts. Of course, Darvish transferred the funds out of there soon after, but whatever means he used to do it is so well-hidden it’s next to impossible to trace where the money went next.”

Damien focused on the implications to keep himself from losing it. “Which is why even Maxheim’s efforts to dig deeper have been stymied and why, if anyone looks for a trail like Maxheim did, it will appear as if you’re the one stealing.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Any reason he used you for this rather than Stormhart?”

Her gaze shifted away, and the bad feeling in his gut got worse. “I’m not sure. He did force Kadon to steal money for him too, but… this particular ritual, where I visited him in his private room, he only did that with me.”

Jaw tight, Damien read between the lines and did not like what he came up with at all.

“I’m sorry, Damien.” Misinterpreting his sudden mood shift, Scarlett drew back. “I know it’s ugly. I-I wanted to spare you—”

“Beautiful, stop talking.” He ran his nose along her hairline and inhaled deeply, using her sweet scent to lock his shit down even tighter. “You have nothing to apologize for. I don’t want to be spared what you went through. I want to know everything you trust me enough to share.”

Scarlett stared up at him, her gaze uncertain. “You’ve changed.”

“I damned well better have because there’s no way you’re going through anything else like this again without me, and I know it was my temper that was part of what got us into trouble last time. It caused our argument, then you agreed to meet, but I went off, marching around half-cocked and—”

“No, Damien.” She clasped his jaw. “Don’t say that. Don’t go there. You arenotto blame.”

“I knowexactlywho’s to blame here: Darvish. But I also recognize my part, and I promise you I will not be making it easy for him to fuck with us this time around. I said I’d be there for you, Scarlett, and I mean it. I intend to be a male you can count on through the good and the bad, which means controlling my temper, ego, and anger, and putting them touse only when the time is right. It also means understanding that even if you’re not saying it aloud, you’re worried that although you like my changes, I won’t like yours. But I do.”

Silence.

Then, eyes bright, shadows still easy to see, her gaze shifted away, and he allowed her retreat because, as much as he wanted to batter at her defenses, he knew he had to give her time.

He wasn’t surprised when she changed the subject. “Darvish isn’t only using the Golden Dome fights to steal money,” she whispered, “but also for another purpose: to recruit fighters.”

That news hit Damien right in the gut. What the fuck was Darvish up to?

“Luc told Kadon that more and more fighters are disappearing from the Consortium ranks, and the few stupid enough to decline Darvish’s offer and continue working in the dome”—she trembled against him— “vanish without a trace.”

He held her closer. “Darvish made you deal with them?”

“No. He only forced me to unleash my gift around those he held a personal grudge against, like bigwigs who refused to succumb to his blackmail or Consortium board members who tried to undercut his leadership. After the first couple, those willing to risk it became few and far between.”

“You’re not to blame for this. Darvish is to blame. Crex is to blame. Whoever the hells is working with them is to blame. But notyou.”

She cupped his jaw, her lips tilting upward, though her eyes remained sad. “I know you’ll bring them down.”

Damien gripped her hand. “Wewill bring them down. Together.”

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