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Even in his state, Gary looks up at me with incredulity.

“Then, you’re going to call Claire and let her know that you’ve captured Z and the diamond. Tell her to come to you instead now that we’ve been apprehended.”

“Why on earth would we do that?” Jeff asks, his face twitching from a mix of emotions.

“I think it’s time Claire comes out to play, don’t you? She’s been hiding long enough.”

Jeff and Gary glance at each other, the latter sweating rivers down his flaming red face from the agony.

“I don’t want any part of your scheme,” Jeff starts, but I raise a hand, cutting off whatever useless shit was about to pour from his mouth.

“That’s the thing, Jeffrey. You don’t have a fucking choice.”

Jeffrey still thinks he has a choice.

The entire flight and drive to the location in Seattle, he pleads his case. It was all Claire’s idea. They just endorse her business ventures and help her with logistics and money.

Blah, blah, blah.

It isn’t until Addie crawls from the passenger seat to the back and presses her gun into his knee that he finally shuts the fuck up, clicking his dentures so tightly together, they just might become permanent.

Michael drives us to an abandoned wine distillery corroded from nature. It reminds me of Parsons Manor, almost. Scrawling with overgrown vines, threading up the side of the gray stone walls. And a lone building in a field of grapes and tall green grass.

The van jostles from the uneven dirt path, nearly swallowed by the plant life surrounding it. Gary is on the floor, cradling his bloody knees, growing paler with each bump. Baron wrapped them up to stem the bleeding, but he looks on the verge of passing out. Once that happens, he won’t live much longer.

If he dies, he dies. We only need one of them anyway.

Michael parks the van outside the building and jumps out, going ahead of us to break down the boarded doors, while Baron helps me carry Gary’s useless body out of the van.

The inside of the distillery is just as haunting as the outside. The vines have infected the interior walls as well. Weeds poke through the cracked foundation, their own stems stretching across the floor.

It’s a massive open space, some of the machinery left over, rusted and pockmarked. Exposed pipes are threaded through the ceiling, and a few of them are beginning to break and droop.

I drag Gary off to the side and position him directly under a hanging pipe, letting Jesus decide if he wants to send that heavy piece of metal crashing down on his head. If he pisses me off enough, I might even shoot it down myself. I drop him unkindly, ignoring his curses while Baron escorts Jeff inside, having him stand beside his crippled partner.

Addie’s carrying three metal chairs in with several ropes wrapped around her arms. I’d offer to help, but she’d have my balls for it. I’d gladly hand them over anyway.

She’s grown into her strength and independence so much since she survived trafficking, and there are times my chest physically aches from both pride and the need to fuck her.

She glances at me, a carnal smile on her face as she sets the chairs down and opens them up. I stalk toward her, delighting in the way her little body tightens with need. A black and blue ring stains her throat, and every time I see it, the beast trapped in my rib cage thrashes.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re excited to hurt me,” I murmur, desire flaring as I watch her round hips sway.

“You’ll be the helpless little kitty cat,” she coos, grinning wider when I give her a dark look.

“Will you still think so when you’re trapped between my teeth?” I grab her by the throat and bring her in close, her caramel eyes dilating with lust. I brush my lips across the side of her mouth, drawing out a shuddered exhale.

“I was only ever helpless when I fell in love with you. And you may hold all the power over me, little mouse, but I’ve never been defenseless. Don’t mistake my lack of control for weakness. All the ways I’ve hurt you have always been intentional.”

She bites back a smile right before her fist rears back and lands directly in the side of my cheek. My vision blackens for a brief moment, and then my equilibrium teeters as she spins me around and pushes me back into the metal chair.

My weight nearly sends it crashing backward, but her foot catches on the chair between my legs, stopping me from falling but coming very fucking close to crushing my dick.

It feels like my bones are cracking from the monster inside me, fighting to get out, and a growl works past my lips. Just as I go to charge back at her, she’s grabbing me by the throat, pushing me back down, and climbing on top of me, straddling my waist with her thick thighs.

My hands land on her hips and squeeze while she leans forward.

“Don’t mistake my submission for weakness, baby,” she breathes into my ear, voice husky with desire. “All the ways I’m going to hurt you will be intentional.”