I lifted the glass, swallowing a significant mouthful before meeting cerulean once more. “What a fucking pleasure.”
Part of me still wavered, theweakpoints I needed to eradicate. If breaking Thorne would remove it forever, then so be it. I needed to tell myself that, because otherwise I’d focus too long on how he’d made me feel, how he’d let me devour him whilehatingme secretly.
He was a byproduct of my father, and now it was my turn to crack his facade. To make him cry, beg, fucking whimper like he’d made me since the moment I met him.
I took another sip. “I’ll prove to you I won’t falter. I’ll be better than Thorne ever fucking was.”
He smirked, almost as if he’d planned to pit us against one another since the beginning, but I didn’t fucking care anymore—if he had, he’d won.
“Good. I look forward to your dedication. It’s good to haveyouback, son.”
“I’m glad to be back,” I said, tilting my head back to swallow the rest of his offering before placing the empty glass on his desk. A promise and sacrifice woven into one.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THORNE
The first two days in Valencia went exactly as I’d expected they would—none of them spoke to me, and I avoided them at all costs. I packed up my gear and slipped out earlier than we planned, because at least then, I could take my last breath without any interference.
My hands skimmed over my gear: two utility blades, four pistols, an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, and a belt equipped with enough ammunition to slaughter whoever I pleased. I’d come here to get this over with, and that’s exactly what I planned to do. The other three could enjoy their time here as a vacation. I’d get my hands dirty without their help and, hopefully, be taken out in the process.
I didn’t want to go back to that hellscape, especially when my best friend had turned against me, and Oren would undoubtedly have hatred to express upon my arrival—it was all emotional turbulence I couldn’t handle anymore.
Slipping one of the guns into the holster on my thigh, I glanced up at the clock—22:00.The plan had been to head to the reported estate at eleven, but I’d slipped into the armory in the mansion they’d placed us in with every intention of being out on the prowl before any of them realized I was gone.
At least on my own, there wasn’t a risk of anyone else getting hurt, and ultimately, I no longer had anything else to lose. It was a combination that was beyond deadly, weaving me into the man General Valens had always wished me to become.
Flipping one of the utility knives from tip to hilt, I slipped it into the sheath beside my pistol before doing the same with the other. My gloved hands curled around the utility belt, and I swung it around my waist, clipping it with a familiar ease. Next, I checked the clip on my rifle and slid it back into its home, satisfied to see it ready for use. With refined movements, I similarly handled the sniper rifle, and once I slid the straps of death over my shoulders, I moved without another thought.
This mission hadn’t been designed to be handled alone; it involved entering an estate filled with well-equipped soldiers and trained men—but I didn’t give a fuck.
Not anymore.
Slipping through the door, I progressed through the basement corridor, making my way to the underground exit on the eastern side.
“And where do you think you’re going?” A silhouette appeared from the shadows, arms crossed over his chest—a matching utility belt already strapped around his waist. He ran a hand through his hair, a satisfied smirk on his face.
“Taking out the trash.” I stepped around him, not offering anything other than an emotionless reply.
“Look,” Matthew said, stepping back into my path. “I might disagree with what you did, Thorne, but we’re brothers. I’m not letting you go out alone.”
“Brothers is abitmuch, but I agree,” Simon added as he stepped into the wavering light, his gear lighter than Matt’s and mine.
Liam also appeared, a solid nod his only response.
“I don’t need your sympathy,” I snapped, my boots continuing to drum against the cement floors. “You all had no issue reminding me how much of a piece of shit I am for leaving Oren behind, about how careless and reckless I am as a leader. It was something I already knew, words that General Valens already said, so save yourself the exertion. I’m going alone?—”
“You might be a piece of shit, but shitsticks,” Simon said as he jabbed a finger to his chest. “You’re stuck to us just as much as we are to you.”
“Gross,” Liam muttered, his fingers pressing into the bridge of his nose.
“What? The metaphor works.”
“That’s the metaphor you decided on?” he countered, raising a brow.
Unamused, I ignored their meaningless banter, another display of my lack of importance.
“What Simon istryingto say is that we’re here for you, even when you fuck up. It’s what we do… what we’ve done,” Matt corrected. “You’re our commander, and that’s not going to change.”
