Page 2 of Brutal Revelation

The man stalks over to where I’m strapped to the table. “We’ll see how smart that mouth is after I fill it,” he snarls, unzipping his pants.

I fight the compulsion to disappear in my mind. I won’t go there. Aleksi and his punk-ass brother are dead. Elise is dead.

He fists the nub he calls a cock, trying to jerk himself hard, and I laugh.

“Having a little trouble? And I do mean little,” I taunt.

I hear the whip sound before it lands across my ass, but I bite back the scream—trapping it behind clenched teeth.

“You’re not really about to—?” Brian fumbles, trailing off without finishing his question.

“Shut up. This shit thinks he’s a tough guy,” the man mutters, spitting in his hand for lubrication. He continues to pump, and the little pecker hardens. He’s definitely not a grower or a shower.

“Grady,” Brian starts, but Grady waves him off. Choosing, instead, to walk until the crown of his dick is pressed against my chapped lips.

“Open up, Bitch Boy,” Grady orders, and so I do. I open wide, and as soon as the tip passes far enough into my mouth, I clamp my jaw down in full force. I feel the instant warm blood pools in my cheeks. It takes him a moment to register the pain. “Fuckkkkk,” he shouts, pulling back, and I feel the flesh tear as he falls to the floor beside me, and I spit the tip of his cock in his face.

Lifting my head, I smile, knowing I look crazed. I can feel the remnants of Grady’s blood dripping down my face. “I think you look better this way,” I gleam at him. My attention is so focused on him that I don’t notice Brian’s brass-knuckle-covered fist until it connects with the side of my face. Then all I see is black.

1

WES

I storm back down the hallway of the Bradford mansion. She’s gone. Her whole family—they’re all gone. I was just trying to buy us time. We needed to keep Owen safe, and now we lost them both.

Stepping into Ariah’s room, the scent of her still permeates the air. The bare walls and her sweet floral smell are like a kick to the balls, reminding me she was here, but she isn’t anymore.

“Fuck!”

My gaze lifts in time to see Wyatt run his hands through his hair before I turn and scan the room. Lev is furiously typing away on his screen, no doubt trying to get a lock on her location. Sebastian paces, searching for something to prove she’s still here. But she’s not.

As the reality of the situation becomes clear, I sink to my knees. How many times can I fail her? Embattled thoughts plague me, making me question if I should’ve—. No! If I did anything else, Owen would’ve died. Knowing I made the right decision and feeling that way are two entirely different things.

A foreign sound registers in my ears, one with hints of familiarity but different enough that I can’t place it.

“Wes!” Lev snaps, and the invisible fog I didn’t register I was in begins to clear. It’s only then I realize the sound I hear is me.

Reaching up, my fingers glide along my stubbled cheek and feel the moisture. Crying? I don’t cry. I haven’t since I learned tears get you nothing—feelings of sadness make you vulnerable, and I refused to ever be that boy again.

Wiping at my face, I stand.

“You good, man?” Lev questions, but I don’t spare him a glance, too upset at myself for showing weakness. “Wes?” He tries again.

“I’m fine,” I bark. “Let’s find Thomas. He’s her security. He has to know where she went. It’s what the fuck he’s paid for.” I don’t wait for anyone’s agreement before storming through the door and down the stairs in search of her head of security, and the man in question stands smugly at the bottom of the stairs.

Before I can utter a word, another voice booms, “Where is she?” Wyatt demands. Any usual deference awarded to Thomas is fleeting at this moment.

“Away from the toxicity that is Edgewood,” he responds. His accusatory glare is pointed directly at me.

I grind my teeth, biting back my response but don’t look away. I deserve his look of disgust, even if I didn’t have a choice.

“Where?” Lev asks. “We need to know. She isn’t safe.”

Thomas arches a brow before finally turning away from me. “She’s in the safest hands possible. And don’t try to locate her on either chip. She left the pin, and I ensured she traveled with a signal jammer.”

My eyes close at his answer. At least we know why Lev can’t pull up her location and why we thought she was still here. “Thomas,” I begin, and his towering frame refocuses his attention on me. “You work for us, not her. So where the fuck is she?” I might feel guilty, but that doesn’t mean I’ll accept his disrespect.

He smirks. “I work for your fathers—the Council members, to be specific. One of which is with his daughter, and he ordered me not to disclose any information pertaining to her, to you little shits.” He thinks we hurt her on purpose.

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