Chapter Twenty-Four
Rex
Two weeks later...Rex’s private suite, Club Decadent Skies, GoldenEye Airbus IV...
The air in the suite was thick with tension as it settled like a shroud over the room.Rex stood by the window overlooking the dungeon.His reflection was a ghostly specter against the still dark cabin below.The hum of the Airbus’s engines was a distant murmur, a reminder that they were suspended between worlds—neither here nor there but trapped in the limbo of uncertainty.
Max’s voice cut through the silence, sharp with concern.“I don’t like it, Rex.”
Rex didn’t turn.He didn’t need to.He could feel the scrutiny of their stares, the unspoken questions hanging in the air like the blade of a guillotine.
“Three weeks,” Jax growled with an edge in his voice, sounding like a match striking flint.“Three fucking weeks since the hack went to shit and not a single word from The Consortium.Or Dominic.Do you really think they’re just going to let this slide?”
Rex exhaled, a slow, controlled breath that did nothing to ease the knot in his chest.“No.I don’t.”
The truth was a bitter pill.He had spent every waking moment since that night dissecting his own stupidity.Dominic Drake had played him like a fucking violin, and Rex had handed him the bow.The banking hack had been a setup from the start—a way to force his hand, to make him complicit in a crime that would have destroyed him.And now?Now Dominic had ammunition far more valuable than money.
Xia.
Rex’s fingers curled into fists at his sides.He had marked her.Not just as his temporary sub, but with his possession, his fury, and his blatant need.The way he had taken her in that cage—fuck—he had unleashed something in her, something raw and untamed, and he had done it without thought, without preparation.A strong submissive like Xia didn’t just surrender to humiliation.She bloomed under it, but only when it was given with care, with precision.What did he do instead?He had ripped her open and left her bleeding...and now she hated him for it.
And he fucking deserved it.
The memory of her shattered against him, her body trembling as she came apart in his arms, was a brand on his soul.He had rebuilt her afterward in his private suite, piece by broken piece, like a craftsman restoring a priceless artifact.He had traced the lines of her spine with his fingertips, whispered promises against her skin, and held her until the tremors subsided and her breathing steadied.He had worshipped her in the aftermath because that was what she deserved—reverence, not ruin.
But it didn’t change the fact that he had failed her.
“I canceled DD’s membership,” Max said, breaking into his thoughts.“He won’t get past security onto any of the GoldenEye Airbuses.That should keep our subs safe.”
When Rex finally turned, his expression was unreadable.“Good call, Max.But it won’t be enough.He disappeared.Camden can’t find him.”
Axel swirled the amber liquid in his glass.“You know, I’ve always suspected Dominic had a cruel streak.I witnessed it once, a couple of years after graduation, at some dive bar, late at night.He was slapping a woman—hard.Not a playful tap.A backhand that split her lip.The kind that leaves a bruise for days.”
Dexter’s jaw tightened.“I hope you stopped the motherfucker?”
Axel’s laugh was humorless.“I didn’t need to.Her husband showed up with a few friends.Turned out they were part of a local drug ring, armed to the teeth.Dominic didn’t even fight.Just...slipped out like a shadow and that was it.”
