She met her gaze directly, and Charlie realized this had all been a game. She didn’t have any answers that Mae needed. The woman was playing with her the way a cat toyed with a mouse before ripping off its head.
“I know!” Mae cocked her head to the side, her expression brightening. “Maybe it’s because you’re John Finch’s daughter.”
“What?”
Mae continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Yes, I think that’s it after all. You see, your daddy is a pain in the ass of every single family-run business on the eastern seaboard. So imagine my surprise when I discover that his beloved only child is fucking Aiden O’Malley.”
“I think ‘beloved’ child is going a bit far.”
“Do you?” Mae casually drew the knife across Charlie’s other thigh. “I think that John Finch is a man with no weaknesses—at least at first glance. You know what I also think?”
Charlie gritted her teeth, the pieces slowly comingtogether.This isn’t about Aiden at all.“I think you’re dying to tell me.”
“I think every single one of us—Eldridge, Romanov, O’Malley, and the rest—would cut off our own nose to spite John Finch.” She grinned, eyes cold. “Or maybe I’ll just cut off yours instead.”
I should have gotten in that car that Dad sent.
She’d been so incredibly blind. So sure of her righteous rage. So sure that her dad was wrong—about Aiden and about her. “What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?”
“I’ll settle with breaking John Finch’s heart.” She leaned forward and tapped Charlie in the chest. “When I’m done with you, I’m going to send him yours in a box. If that doesn’t break him, then maybe your daddy really doesn’t love you.”
It was a lose-lose situation. It didn’t matter if she protested, because Mae was going to do what she promised, if only to see how Charlie’s dad reacted.Would it break him?She didn’t know. Frankly, she was more concerned with getting out of this mess alive, but she didn’t know how she was going to accomplish that quite yet.
She wouldn’t give up.
She’d done that once before, and maybe things would have been different if she’d been more stubborn. Fought harder.Something.
“Aiden will come for me.” The words were out before she could think better of them.
Mae laughed. “Aiden is fucking you for the same reason I have the itch to cut off that cute little nose of yours. Your world and ours don’t mix. If he told you they do, he was trying to sell you something.”
Wasn’t that exactly what Charlie was afraid of?
He told me he wants to make a go of it. He might not have told me immediately about Romanov, but hedidtell me.
It came down to who she trusted more—Mae, who was telling her everything that dark voice inside her suspected, or Aiden, who had offered her hope several times over in the last few weeks. Last time she’d been faced with this choice, she’d listened to the voice that whispered she deserved whatever she got, because she’d never be good enough no matter how hard she tried.
She wasn’t listening to that voice anymore.
Charlie lifted her chin and stared the other woman in the eyes. Maybe if she could provoke Mae, the woman would offer her an opening. Or maybe the psycho would just kill her that much quicker.
“You can pretend this is about my father all you want, but we both know the truth—you’re jealous because you want Aiden’s cock and I’m the one who has it. He knew you were practically panting for it, and instead he tracked down me—a cop’s kid—to play house.” She tilted her head to the side. “Or was it Dmitri’s cock you wanted? It’s really difficult to keep track. No one wants you, Mae. Not even the monsters.”
“Aiden chose you—”
“Because he wantsme.” Charlie tried for a saucy grin, but it hurt too much to look truly convincing. “If he really wanted to hurt my dad, he would have snatched me off the street the same way you did.” She jerked her chin at the warehouse around them, and then lowered her voice. “Though, honey, seriously, he would have done the whole torture bit with more pizzazz.”
“Bitch.” Mae slid forward, tipping her chair onto twolegs, getting right in Charlie’s face. “I’m going to send your engagement ring back to that bastard—with your finger attached.”
Charlie head-butted her. It wasn’t a clean hit, but she felt Mae’s nose give. The woman screamed and hit the ground, blood pouring from her nose. Charlie stared at her, weaving despite being tied to the chair.Going to have a hell of a headache if I live through this.
She would have kicked Mae while she was down, but her ankles were zip-tied to the damn chair. She couldn’t even work up the fluid to spit on the fallen woman, but she managed to say, “You talk too much.”
***
Aiden moved through the dark, Romanov at his side. He wasn’t too keen on the arrangement, but it was a necessary evil—James was liable to snap Romanov’s neck if he had the opportunity. They approached the side of the north warehouse facing the water. There were two men milling near the door. The guards.
They didn’t break their stride, moving almost as one. He shot the man on the left, and saw the one on the right drop at nearly the same moment. The silencers on their guns made the smallest of sounds as they delivered death. It didn’t seem right. Death should be an event—something loud and impossible to ignore.
