“Because I have the information you want,” Eric laughs as his eyes take Ella in. They heat with interest, and his tongue darts out, licking his lips.
I consider killing him then.
Saying fuck everything, fuck the questions, and getting answers. I step forward, lifting my gun and lining up my shot with the eyes currently staring at our woman as though he has any right to.
Fuck him.
“What does that mean, Eric?” Ella asks slowly, her voice calm and cool, as though she hasn’t got a care in the world. I smile to myself, beyond proud of Mi Cielo.
The overweight, ruddy man falls into a fit of cackles, and Nyx makes a sound of surprise next to me. I don’t know why he’d be surprised. The man before us is insane. It’s clearly written all over every inch of his manic face.
“You’re all fools. You don’t even know what’s been happening right before your eyes.”
I stiffen, my ears perking up as my heart begins to race.
“Do enlighten us then, you vile prick,” Gage murmurs, and finally, my attention slides from Eric. He smirks at me and widens his legs, crossing his arms over his chest.
My brows furrow, but I reluctantly drop my gun, following his lead. I trust the men around me. Trust them to keep Ella safe. Every one of us would rather die than to see her hurt. Never again.
The old fuck huffs a humorless laugh. “You have no idea who she is, do you? You have no idea who you protect or what you’re even protecting her from.”
I swallow down rocks at that.
We don’t know who she is, but I have an idea, and with every word, that thing in the back of my mind grows, telling me I’m right.
My fists clench, one around my gun, the other digs deep grooves into my palm, and I let the pain ground me.
“Get to the fucking point,” Nyx snarls. I feel him shift at my back, moving closer to Ella.
“For ten years, I’ve been banished from this city. My home. My career,” Eric barks. “I lost everything because of you.”
I bristle. Who the fuck does he think he is?
“What are you talking about, Eric? You abused me. You raped me. You are a sick man and always have been. You abused and raped Hunter.”
My head snaps to the side, watching as our brave girl rolls her shoulders back and takes a step forward. Love and unyielding adoration fills me alongside pride like I’ve never felt before.
I want to reach out, want to hold her, worship her.
“You’re the reason Cora killed herself. It was all your fault. Every single thing that happened to us was on you.”
I see her hand slowly move toward her gun as she subtly steps in front of Hunter, as though she needs to protect him.
My eyes flit to him, mybrother, and what I see there has a surprising amount of rage filling me alongside the pride I feel for Isabella. He’s terrified. Utterlyterrified. His face is the face of a person confronting their abuser for the first time, the force of it ripping the old scars wide open for everyone to see.
It’s a pain I know well.
I felt it every time I had to wake up and look my parents in the eyes.
“No,” Eric grits out, forcing my attention from Hunter. I slide my gaze slowly from him, my heart lodged in my throat. “It wasn’t.”
Eric’s hand moves to his back, something every one of us clocks but doesn’t react to. We’re all ready and confident that we can take this prick out faster than he can breathe.
“Spit it out,” Ella sighs, making my lip twitch. “Whatever you came here to do or say, get on with it. We have a party to get to.”
We certainly do, though I doubt we’ll be going to it now. The second we get the information we need, one of us will be killing the sick fucker, then calling in whatever favors we need to take care of him.
After that…after that, we’ll want to be home, with her, with them. Not at a party with hundreds of strangers.
