“No.”
One word.
All defiance.
“PPG,” Bodhi said over his shoulder. “This is going to get messy.”
“I’m okay,” she answered in a voice that didn’t quiver. “But thank you for the warning.”
Bodhi twisted to look over his shoulder and he grinned. “You’re welcome.”
I saw the move even as Milo and Rome did, Karagiani tried to lash out with a foot to kick Bodhi. He took no one by surprise. All he got was his leg trapped in Bodhi’s grip followed by a distinctive pop.
A vein throbbed in Karagiani’s forehead but he didn’t give in to a yell. Not this time. The man was still hanging by a broken arm. What was a dislocated knee?
Head canted, Bodhi seemed to be studying Lainey, not that I could tell what the hell was going on behind his eyes. Then again, maybe I could. Karagiani had tried to hurt her.
He was also choosing a bloody and brutal death.
“How badly do you want to know?” Bodhi asked and Lainey let out a slow sigh.
“Badly,” I answered for her. “But she’ll give it up and move on if we let her.”
That earned me a stink eye as she twisted to glare up at me. “I am not that obvious.”
“No, Kotyonok, you are not remotely obvious to anyone. But I have watched you sacrifice time and again. It’s why I wanted you to have a bodyguard—I just wish I’d never hired him.”
“You didn’t know,” she said in a tone that brooked no arguments. “You would have killed him yourself if you had.” No doubt seemed to exist within her. As much as I’d let her down, she still had faith in me.
“Yes,” I promised. “I would have.”
“Then we get the answers you want. It might take a while, but we get to be creative.” Bodhi let go of his leg and glanced at Milo. “You want the first crack or should we give it to the twins?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “No, the twins can have him after. We need answers first. Acceptable, O’Connell?”
“Acceptable,” Liam said in an easy tone. “Rome…”
His twin didn’t move. “I’m just watching until after.”
Despite the pain twisting his expression, Karagiani actually cut a look toward the silent twin who was just “watching” him. He actually paled the longer he stared.
So, pain didn’t bother him, but Rome did?
I kind of wondered what he saw in his eyes. Then I decided maybe I didn’t want to know. I snapped back to the conversation in the room. Milo was moving, he had a knife and slash it along the achilles tendon of the man’s uninjured leg.
His teeth clamped together, the clack of them audible. But he didn’t scream. His pain tolerance would be impressive if it weren’t annoying.
“You good?” Adam asked, his voice low and close to my ear. A warmth seemed to spread out, a wall against the fire still burning inside of me. Lainey still leaned into me, her arm around me and I recognized what she was doing.
She was comforting me. It was why Adam was still here.
“Get a pound of flesh for me, too?” It was a simple request but when I met Adam’s gaze, there was no mistaking the retribution shining in his damn near purple eyes.
The violet in them always seemed subtle until he was really angry. The violence brought out the darkness in them or maybe it was the darkness in him that brought out the violence.
It was really fucking attractive. If we were anywhere else, I’d kiss that sensuous mouth of his. Raincheck, I promised myself.
“Just a pound?” Adam asked, flicking a look to Lainey for a moment. Long enough that I could admire the possessive heat in his stare and marvel at the fact he was including me in his display.
“Trying not to be greedy,” I told him and the weight of his stare landed on me again.
“Be greedy,” he said. “I’ll let you know when it’s too much.”
Fuck.
Me.
Desire geysered upwards, splashing lava on all the burnt embers left by my temper. That raincheck was more than guaranteed.
I’d never been so damn hungry for him.
Did he have any idea of what he did to me?
I was about to make myself stop staring at him so heatedly before I just threw all caution to the wind. Karagiani absolutely needed to die and we could make out over his corpse—or not.
Then Adam winked at me before he strode forward.
He winked.
A huff of laughter escaped me…
