My eyebrows shot up before I could stop them. “Next weekend?” He nodded. “And her family is okay with it?”
He winced. “They’re not exactly thrilled, but considering the circumstances…” He cleared his throat uncomfortably and blushed, probably for the first time in his life or at least since I’d known him. “Anyhow, will you come?”
I studied him for a moment, the man who’d stood beside me through negotiations and betrayals. “Is this my official invitation?”
“Yes.” He straightened in the chair, suddenly serious. “It is.”
“Then of course I’ll be there.” I paused. “But why the rush?”
Color crept up Amir’s neck and into his cheeks in deeper shades of crimson. He looked away, clearing his throat again. “We’re starting a family.”
I didn’t need him to spell it out. A pregnancy would change it all, even for sticklers like Dina’s family. I stepped forward and held out my hand. He took it, his grip firm but a little unsteady.
“Congratulations,” I said. “Anything you need—anything at all—you let me know.”
He nodded once before his expression hardened. His gaze flicked toward the back of the warehouse with the reinforced door that led to the torture room.
“All three men are there,” he said. “We didn’t want to start without you.”
Fury burned through me at the thought of them. The thought of a gun pressed to Sophie’s temple, eyes wide with terror; Sienna ripped from the streets, screaming. The bastards responsible were breathingborrowed air, and soon they’d understand exactly how fragile that privilege was.
“Have they said anything?” I asked.
The words barely made it past the inferno clawing at my throat, surging through my veins and vibrating through every fucking inch of me.
“Nope.”
“They will,” I said flatly.
Amir dipped his chin. “They always do.”
After Sophie stumbled upon the dungeon in my villa, I had it shut down. I wasn’t willing to risk her seeing this part of me, this life. Not again.
I needed to protect her from the darkness that clung to me like a second skin. I couldn’t walk away from her, but I’d protect her from this life as much as possible.
I crossed the space and pushed through the steel door into the adjoining room.
The lights were harsh and unforgiving, throwing shadows against concrete walls stained by sins that would never quite wash away.
Three of my men stood guard, silent and alert. In front of them hung three others with their hands bound, wrists chained to iron hooks bolted into the ceiling. Their toes barely brushed the floor, muscles trembling from the strain. Sweat streaked their faces, fear already bleeding through the bravado.
The door clicked shut and the prisoners jerked, eyes snapping to me in unison.
“Hello, gentlemen.”
I stalked toward them, my hands curled into fists at my sides as I fought the urge to slam their heads into the wall.
But that would be mercy.
And mercy was the one thing they weren’t getting.
“That one’s Rick,” Amir muttered. “This is Jack, and that ugly fuck is Cody.”
“Who are you?” Cody asked. “Set us free immediately.”
“Don’t worry about who I am,” I drawled, my voice vibrating withbarely contained anger. “You three threatened a woman and kidnapped another. It’s time to pay for that.”
They stared at me, mouths gaping. “What are you talking about?”
