“Not for what I let happen?” Her voice trembles and I know, she’s been eating herself up with guilt.
Her eyes look up at mine, the questions filling them, enough to make me pause. I lean down and kiss her lips. “I’m proud of you for being so strong.” And then I softly push her toward her door.
The important part is that she and Emma are safe, tucked in their apartment on the top floor of my secure building.
She goes, stopping in the doorway to watch my retreat down the hall.
The elevator doors slide open and both my brothers step in. I turn back, giving her a small smile, before I go any further. “In your apartment. Lock the door. I want to see it.”
She gives a single nod and then does as I command. I listen until the lock clicks.
And then I turn back to the elevator. The moment I step inside, Gris removes his hand, the doors sliding closed.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Gris spits into the small space. “Have either of you seen Emma’s back? How bad is it?”
“It’s bad,” Killian confirms.
“How long have you known?” I ask, scrubbing my hands over my face.
“I’ve suspected for a few days. I saw the marks a week ago, but the other night you mentioned Vigo’s name and Emma completely shut down.”
How did I fucking miss that? It takes everything in me not to punch the elevator wall.
“Plan?” Killian asks.
I press the button for the lobby. “Vigo’s downstairs?”
“That’s right,” Gris answers. “Demanding that you give him back his wife before he burns the building to the ground.
“And the cameras are rolling?”
“Yep.” Killian cracks his knuckles.
I press the button for the floor above the lobby. “That’s where you’re getting off Killian.”
“You’re not bringing Killian to the lobby with us?” Gris asks, shifting as he grimaces.
“No. I’m going to take my beating like the little brother I am.” It’s going to take every ounce of my self-control not to beat him to death right here, right now. But I’m going to let him kick the shit out of me.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Gris asks, but I turn to Killian. He knows…
“It means,” I crack my knuckles. “That I’m about to set New York’s underworld on fire and dance on its grave while I watch it burn.” My teeth grit together. “I’m going to rain chaos down on this city, and I won’t stop until Gigi and Emma are completely safe.”
“Rush,” Gris warns.
But Killian gives a cold laugh. “Don’t worry, Gris. He’ll rebuild it. And in our image.”
“I’m not God,” I snort. “But yes. It will be to our advantage by the time I’m done.”
The elevator stops and Killian slips out. “Good luck,” he rumbles before I hit the button to close the door again.
“The best and worst of us,” Gris repeats his line from earlier. I ignore him.
The elevator starts down again, and I take a breath, filling my lungs with calming air. The elevator stops and the doors slide open. The second they crack, I hear the yelling.
The doors open and the sight that greets me is almost impressive.
Vigo is having a first-rate tantrum in my lobby. Most people have cleared out of the space, only the two men he came with are still standing in the middle of the marble floors. Several of the security guards stand around the edges, looking leery, and a bitabused. My receptionists are huddled behind their desk, holding each other.
