Page 196 of Filthy Royal

“You sensing a trap?” Luc narrowed his eyes as if his borrowed cloak also gave him the ability to see through walls.

“I don’t know. Not necessarily. Just something seems… off. You?”

Scarlett’s brother inhaled deep, as if scenting the air. “All I’m sensing is that I want in there and my hands wrapped around that fucker’s throat in payback. Then I want us out of here as soon as possible.”

“You and me both.”

Bagging Crex, Darvish’s long-term assistant, took them one step closer to Darvish, which, in turn, was one step closer to bringing Zaya home, so this field trip had to happen ASAP.

Still, Damien hadn’t wanted to leave Scarlett, his sister, or Maddox, but dragging them along was a hells of a lot riskier than having them remain at the hideout. Not to mention, he had no interest in Scarlett witnessing what he was about to do to Crex.

So, once they got the address from Maxheim, and Luc made it clear he was going after Crex no matter what, Damien decided he had no objection to a helpful pair of cage-fighter hands along for the ride.

After all, Crex had tortured Scarlett’s brother. Payback was due.

But Damien wanted the omegas protected, so after some negotiation, they’d left Maddox and Kadon to guard the place.

Damien had tucked Scarlett back into bed with the promise he’d return as soon as possible. He didn’t want her to have any more nightmares without him there to soothe her.

So, here he and Luc stood. In one of the so-so neighborhoods of the Golden Dome—not glitzy or luxurious, but a step above the sterile, cramped housing quarters of most prizes, fighters, and staff. Here, the units were attached, one-story residences just off the main strip. Crex’s place wasn’t in the best shape: tiles had fallen from the roof, and the windows were dirty, but the unit was a short walk from the stadium and arena, likely so Crex could be at his employer’s constant beck and call.

“We sure he’s in there?” Luc asked for the tenth time.

“If Maxheim says Crex is in there, he’s in there.”

Maxheim was busy working his way through the scanned vids, searching for any intel. Unfortunately, most of what he’d found was incriminating stuff that would get Scarlett or her family in trouble, which was probably why Darvish had left them behind: as a form of a warning.

But one of the vids was a recording made by Crex, where he’d roughed up a restrained Luc to keep Scarlett in line. Damien hadn’t watched it. He knew he’d lose his shit if he saw what Scarlett had had to witness, and he needed to keep his cool long enough to get information from Crex about Darvish and Zaya. Only then could he tear Crex to pieces.

However, Maxheim had been less interested inwhatwas on the vid than inhowit had been recorded. Unlike most of the other vids, captured through Darvish’s vast surveillance network, this particular one had been produced using a different source. Crex had recorded it himself. Which meant it could be traced back to his unique comms signal. A signal Maxheim had locked in on and followed back to the wearer’s location.

“Let’s do this.” Damien pushed off the alley wall, his cloak fluttering at his calves as he prowled toward the door, Luc following right behind.

It was surprisingly easy to rewire the door and slide it open. Another development that had Damien’s gut stirring.

Still, laser raised, he barreled through the doorway, going high while Luc went low.

No movement from within. No sound either. It was soon apparent why.

Crex sat facing them, staring back with sightless eyes, an open mouth, and a broken neck. Tied to a chair, he was naked and covered in bruises and blood. And had something stapled to his chest.

“Hells.” His laser still up, gaze scanning for an ambush, Damien stalked forward.

Someone else had gotten to Crex first.

Any doubt as to who that was ended when Damien drew closer and saw the message etched into the outside of the vid monitor attached to Crex’s chest:For my pet.

Damien growled low.

Luc didn’t seem much happier. “That fucker. Darvish did this and left a vid for Scarlett.”

“I know.” Damien turned in a slow circle, ready for any sudden ambush.

Luc did the same. “He’s obsessed with her.”

“Yup.” Damien had figured that out a while ago.

Thanks to their Alphahole sire, his half brother had a thing about being defective and never measuring up, and Scarlett was as good as it got. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also Damien’s female and had a dangerous, powerful gift. Plus, no matter what Darvish did to her, she got back up and kept on enduring. Unfortunately for her, that made her the perfect plaything for a monster such as Darvish.

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