Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

LUCILLE

Theron’s words should terrify me, especially since I know that when he says not alive, he means it.

Once our shower is finished and we’ve dried off and put on some clothes, I’m not sure what to do. I want to ask him a million questions. I want to talk about Emmie and Charlie and the fact that he just blew their brains out. I also want to have a serious discussion about his childhood, what exactly happened, and how he got out of it. But I’m scared to death about everything.

These are secrets he’s kept for a whole lifetime. It’s not a secret like us screwing a few times while he was supposedly dating Emmie. Although I knew there was something not right with her from day one, they were together, and our being together was wrong… no matter how right it felt at the time.

But I knew that there was something with them, with Emmie specifically, that was off. She was appeasing in a way that no rational person would be. Not to mention the way she was manipulating Theron at every move… I’m not sure I’m much better, though. I definitely stalked and manipulated my situation for my benefit.

Theron has his back to me, wearing nothing except a pair of boxer briefs. He doesn’t have any clothes here, and all I have are a couple of T-shirts and leggings that appeared the other day. My eyes scan every contour of his back; it’s sexy as fuck. Just like him.

“What are you thinking?” he demands, his voice rough.

Closing the distance between us, I place my palm on the center of his back. “A million different things that you probably won’t even reply to, so what’s the point?” I murmur.

He snorts, his body jumping slightly. He doesn’t turn around to face me; he doesn’t say a single word. Instead, he stays where he is, solemnly looking out of the window, likely seeing nothing at all. He is, without a doubt, lost inside of his own head.

My breath hitches a moment later when I hear a knock at the door. Theron’s spine straightens, and without skipping a beat, he walks away from me and heads straight toward the door.

I stay where I am, dressed in leggings and a T-shirt but bra and pantyless as I watch him. He leans forward to check the peephole, then wrenches the door open. I watch as he steps to the side, and not only Vaughn but also the rest of the men walk through the door.

The living room is filled with five tall, buff, and hot men. All of them I know from the past, all of them I’ve missed tremendously. Sucking in a breath, I flick my gaze from one to the other, and I can tell by the expressions they wear that they are not in a mood to smile at all whatsoever.

Taking a step backward, I slowly disappear down the hallway to give them some privacy, but I’m nosey as hell, and I don’t go far. Pressing my back against the wall, I turn my head and strain to listen to the conversation between the men.

“I fucked up,” Theron announces. “I lost control.”

The silence is almost deafening, and I wonder if they’re all angry with him. I still have a lot of questions about how he could have killed Emmie and why exactly. I know what I heard, so I can piece enough together, but at the same time, he just shot her right there with no remorse. No nothing.

Killed.

Dead.

Just gone.

This man should have me ready to run for the hills and go into hiding. But he doesn’t. I don’t care. I want him to wrap me in his arms, kiss me, fuck me, and keep me forever. Until the day I die, he is and always has been who I choose. No matter how absolutely petrified I am by him.

THERON

My brothers stare at me, none of them speaking. I feel like an absolute piece of shit over this. I want to take it all back, but at the same time, I don’t because those boys didn’t deserve what was about to happen to them.

Hale takes a step toward me, then another. He wraps his arms around me, his fist pounding on my back before he speaks, his mouth near my ear. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. You did the right thing.”

He takes a step back, and Grayson moves forward but doesn’t hug me. Instead, he dips his chin slightly, his eyes looking up to meet mine.

“We would have all done the same, Theron. Every single one of us. You held back a lot fucking longer than any of us could have.”

I’m still angry at myself for allowing my body to take control of my mind. I spent far too much fucking time on this to allow that shit to happen, and I just went ahead and did it anyway. Zero control over myself. And that is something I can’t allow to ever happen again.

“Doesn’t make it right,” I mutter.

They all shake their heads a couple of times and then find a place to sit in the living room. Something else is going on, though, because they all seem on edge. Whatever it is, I have a feeling that I’m not going to like it. The vibes in the room, the seriousness they are putting off, is thick as it swirls around me.

“What are you going to tell me that I’m not going to like?” I ask, almost demanding to know the fucking answer right now.

Their gazes flick between one another, then shift back to meet my own. It’s surprisingly Boden who speaks first. He clears his throat and leans forward, placing his elbows on his thighs, his gaze connecting with mine before he lets out a heavy sigh.

“We have found nothing about Ravet. Going through the office, searching through their cell phones. We have nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing.”

“The boys?” I ask, hating that I have to ask that at all.

“They know nothing,” Grayson says. “They were exactly what Emmie claimed. No families, with nobody who really gives a shit about them in general. Sold into a system meant to use and abuse them the same way we were.”

“What did you do with them?” I demand.

It’s not an ask. I fucking demand to know where the hell these kids are. It’s obvious we can’t send them back to where they came from. They’ll just be pawns for another ring just like this one.

Boden and Grayson shift their gazes back and forth between one another. Grayson stands, then walks over to the window to look out. He’s likely seeing nothing, lost in his thoughts, in the thoughts that are much like mine since I started— memories .

“I sent them to the boarding school in Pennsylvania. They will all get an education there and be safe,” Grayson murmurs.

“There was no way they could go into a group home here or anywhere near here. I also have a contact there, and they will keep in touch with their progress, but this shit can’t happen again. I only have so much pull there.”

I can’t deny that I like the fact they will be together and far away from here. A group home wasn’t going to save them. Going to a school where they have a chance at a future is the best opportunity they could have had handed to them.

They don’t need to be in foster care, and I can only hope they will flourish. I wish something like that could have happened to us. That someone would have come in and saved us.

“What do we do now?” I ask.

They likely already have an idea because they’ve gone through the Willow Club top to bottom and will be going through Asher’s place and then Emmie’s as well. But the Willow Club held the most opportunity for information.

Even going through the hidden spaces revealed nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing. “What about the partners?” I ask.

“We gathered them up and have them safely tucked away for questioning.”

Good.

Standing up, I look down at the men. “Then let’s go and do that. I want to get this wrapped the fuck up because I am ready to finish it.”

Hale stands and takes a step toward me. He lifts his hand, clapping it on my shoulder before he shakes it once. “You sure you want to leave Lucille?” he asks.

I think about that question. I should probably bring her with me or stay here, but I decide against both. Instead, I jerk my chin and give him a smirk. “I’m sure,” I state.

Vaughn chuckles, shaking his head a couple of times. His gaze finds mine, and he holds it. “You know I can’t lock her in here, and none of us want to miss this.”

Not a single fucking one of us.

I don’t want to miss questioning those fuckers. Just when I am about to make my way toward the bedroom where I assume Lucille is, she walks out of the hallway and stops. Our gazes all swing over to meet hers.

“I’ll go with you,” she announces. “I don’t want to miss a second of this, either.”

Vaughn is the only one of us who makes a noise. He chuckles, then takes a step forward. “Let her come. Not like she can just run away when shit gets tough. She’s already seen you murder two people.”

I snort, thankful that he hasn’t mentioned the fact I also fucking bought her. Bought and paid for her. Instead of denying her instantly, I turn to the other men because this is about them, too.

“Lucille can come. There’s nothing those fuckers can say that she probably doesn’t already know,” Vaughn murmurs.

But he and I know that’s a lie. There is plenty that can be said that Lucille has not a goddamn clue about. But she will figure it out eventually. The six of us, we’re a family, and now she’s part of that—whether she wants to be or not.

“She can come,” Boden murmurs. Grayson and Hale confirm as well.

Looking back at her, I arch a brow. “Seems like you’re good to come with us, sweetheart.”

She smiles and closes the distance between us, then tilts her head backward so she can look up into my eyes. Instead of saying anything in response, she rises to her toes and touches her lips to the corner of my mouth.

Taking a step backward, she laces her fingers with mine, and together, we all walk out of the safe house and toward the two fuckers who are still standing… for now. I plan on getting as much information as possible out of them before they join Asher, Emmie, and Charlie in hell.