Page 24 of The Villain

“Gates closed?”

“Closed and locked.”

I blew out a deep breath. “Good.”

Jace joined me, and I could see the sass had leached out of him. Maybe because he was tired, or maybe because he saw that I needed a fucking break. Knowing I didn’t drink, he poured me a club soda from behind the bar. I gulped down half of it, and the bubbles slid down my throat and fizzed in my belly as I slid onto a barstool. The only reason I remained upright was because my men were watching me, and I couldn’t look weak.

“He told you?” Jace asked. “About the route?”

I nodded once. “Yeah.”

“How’d you get him to do that?”

I choked on my next sip. Rhys was studying me with those intense eyes, unfazed when I shot him a glare. Just because.

“Trade secret,” I replied.

A wide grin split Jace’s face. “Oh, fuck off,” he laughed, pouring me another club soda.

“You all right?” Rhys asked, his deep voice soft.

My gaze flicked over to the door Rank had skulked out of. “Should have done that months ago.”’

“Probably,” Rhys conceded. “Why now?”

Because Rank wanted Devlin. And Devlin was mine.

“He crossed a line.”

Rhys didn’t ask which line I meant.

I sat around for a while, just shooting the shit. Now that Devlin was chained up in Frank, I knew I’d have to talk to my officers about him. And as much as I wanted Devlin to myself, I wasn’t the kind of leader to keep my officers in the dark. Not about the devil in our midst. I told Hack and Mads to let other officers know there’d be a meeting tomorrow.

One by one, the men trickled off to bed until only Rhys and I remained, sitting side-by-side at the bar, shoulders brushing. He’d been nursing the same beer all night, long enough for it to be warm now as he twirled the bottle between his palms.

I’d never known a time without Rhys. As far back as I could remember, he was there by my side. He’d always been a calming presence, even as a kid. An old soul. His father had been a good man, unlike mine. Probably why Rhys didn’t carry the kind of rage I lived with every day. Instead, he waded through a deep pool of grief for his late father and his mother in long-term care.

“Ci?” he asked softly after we’d been silent for a good twenty minutes.

I didn’t like the shortened version of my name—Kee. Rhys rarely used it. I turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah?”

His dark eyes looked nearly black in the dim light. “You sure you’re good?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you studying me.”

“Don’t give me something to study.”

I sighed. “I’m not good, Rhys. That much is clear. Devlin has me all fucked up in the head.”

There. That was the truth. Just not… theentiretruth.

I pulled out the gun from my nightstand. “Keep this safe for me. Can’t have the devil gnawing off his arm and shooting me in my sleep.”

He took it from me with his lips pursed. “I can tell he’s fucking you up.” His brows lowered. “And I know you think he’s your responsibility. But Patrick is dead, man. Revenge isn’t gonna do a damn thing.”

Oh. Devlin Walsh was definitely my responsibility. Maybe for a few less-than-pure reasons, sure. But that didn’t change the fact that he was a means to an end. If I didn’t avenge Patrick, I’d find myself a target.

“You know that’s not the world we live in.”