Page 188

“Where’s Camila?” I wheeze.

“The others are out looking for her, sir,” Daniel confirms. I nod my head, propping myself against the table and lifting my bloodied hand from my ribs.

“Christ, Xander,” Jac gasps.

“I’m fine,” I grit.

“Sit,” Ezra instructs Jenny and Penelope, signalling his gun to Jac’s fallen seat.

“But there’s no—” Penelope starts, but Daniel interrupts her.

“Grab the two chairs to the side of you.”

Penelope huffs and scrapes both chairs into the middle, Jenny following after her and sitting, folding her arms across her chest and placing one leg on top of the other.

“Solutions, not problems,” Jac snickers, throwing the guard into one of the empty chairs. He grunts with the impact.

Vertigo starts settling in as I watch Ezra and Daniel tie the three to the chairs and shove my broken one to the side.

“Well, this is a turn of events,” Jac drawls to the tied-up trio before walking over to the table, and in one swift motion, he pushes all the tools to the ground, making them clatter.

“Sit down, Xander,” he instructs. Blood is draining fast, and I don’t have the mind to even argue with him, so I flop onto the table in a seated position, leaning my back against the concrete wall. “Has anyone alerted the doctor?” Jac asks. Daniel nods in response.

“He’s on his way.”

My body hurts so fucking much. The only thing getting me through this is the knowledge that my men are out there looking for Camila.

It should be me out there.

I let her down.

Again.

I shoot up from the table—grunting through the pain—at the reminder that these fuckers have her holed up somewhere. I grab a stray knife from the table, approach Jenny first, and lean my hands on either side of the armrest. She tilts her face away from me, body trembling and face sweating.

This isn’t the woman that I knew as my mother. This is a monster. Wholly unrecognisable. Even after everything she did to me.

“Xander, sit the fuck back down. You’re gonna bleed out,” Jac warns, attempting to drag me back to the table by my shoulder, but I stay put.

“Where the fuck is my woman?” I snarl, and she whimpers in response. “Where?” I get in her face.

“Somewhere far away now. Probably back with that lunatic of a boyfriend getting used as a sex toy,” she says, tears slowly leaving her eyes. My arms grip the armrests, warmth seeping out of my side. “Don’t like it when your toys are in danger, do you? Should’ve thought twice before killing Aidan,” she spews, a flash of hurt hiding in her eyes.

Too bad I don’t fucking care.

“You’re the Dellers,” Jac comments, huffing out in disbelief.

“Anyway,” she continues, leaning back in the chair. “She’s not my problem now. I got the money Luke promised.”

“It’s cute you think you’re making it out of here alive,” Jac shrugs.

“You’re just the same as him,” Jenny remarks. “I knew you’d ruin him too.” She narrows her eyes at me.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Jac asks.

“You and him”—she jerks her chin at us both—“are brothers.”

I have no energy to question her.