Page 22 of All The Darkest Truths (Second Sons Duet #2)

My hands slide slowly upward, tracing the contours of his muscles, feeling him tense beneath my touch. His skin is warm, smooth, except for the light dusting of hair that narrows down his abdomen.

“Are you lying to me like Talon is?” I ask softly as my fingers continue their exploration.

Alex's carefully constructed facade cracks instantly. His eyes widen.

“What did Talon tell you?” he demands, his voice tight with an emotion I can't quite place.

I maintain my gentle caress, feeling a surge of power as his breathing grows more uneven. “Nothing,” I reply, letting my nails scrape lightly down his torso. “But your reaction just now tells me there's something you're both hiding.”

Alex catches my wrists, stilling my movements. His grip is firm but gentle, his thumbs unconsciously tracing circles on my pulse points. “It's not what you think.”

“Then what is it?” I press, not pulling away from his hold. “If it's about Luca, I deserve to know. He's my brother.”

Something shifts in Alex's expression—a flash of guilt quickly replaced by resolution. He releases my wrists with a sigh.

“You're right,” he admits finally. “We found something, but I didn't want to tell you until I was sure it was viable.”

My heart leaps into my throat. “What? What did you find?”

Alex hesitates, then moves to his desk and taps a key. One of his monitors flickers to life, displaying what looks like an email. He gestures for me to come closer.

“Talon found this last night. It came to the email account I created for him for the auction.”

The subject line makes my blood run cold: " Exclusive Private Auction: Invitation Only ." As I read further, my legs nearly give out beneath me.

“Oh my God. This could be Luca.”

“It could be,” Alex remarks. “But, if we join that auction without any protections in place, the connection could lead The Collector right to us. To you.”

“And that's why you've been locked in here,” I breathe, the pieces finally clicking into place. “You're trying to make sure we can safely join the auction without exposing ourselves.”

Alex nods, relief washing over his face now that the truth is out. “I didn't want to get your hopes up until I knew for sure we could do this safely. These people, they're sophisticated. Their digital security is unlike anything I've seen before.”

“Do Oz or Z know about this?”

“No,” he answers plainly. “Talon brought it to me in the middle of the night.” His cheeks flush at the statement. “Everyone else was occupied, and I needed to verify that this is real.”

“And it is?”

Alex nods his head. “From everything I can tell, it’s legitimate. The email address they used was only used for your auction details, and the auction previews…are, well, pretty straightforward.”

My fingers trace the screen, as if somehow, I could reach through it and pull my brother to safety. "When is this happening?"

“In three days. Well, less than that now.”

Less than three days. The timeline makes my chest tighten with anxiety. "Can you hack their security by then?"

Alex’s expression hardens with determination.

“I’m close. Very close. Just need to finish building a few more layers of protection.

” He gestures to the code scrolling across another monitor.

“I’ve been working on a digital tunnel that will conceal our real IP address and location, bouncing our signal through dozens of servers around the world.

They’ll never be able to trace it back to us. ”

I study the complex lines of code, understanding none of it but trusting completely in Alex's expertise. "And once we're in the auction, what's the plan? We can't exactly outbid everyone."

“That's where it gets complicated,” Alex admits, dropping into his desk chair.

He rubs his face, exhaustion evident in every line of his body.

“We need to identify who's running the auction, track their payment processing system, and if possible, pinpoint where they're holding the 'merchandise.

'" The word drips with disgust as it leaves his lips.

“And you think you can do all that while the auction is happening?"

“In theory, yes.”

I pace the small space between his bed and desk, mind racing. “So what's the holdup? Why not tell everyone now and start planning?”

Alex hesitates, his fingers drumming on the desk. “There's a chance that this is a trap. That auction listing could be bait.”

“For me? For all The Collector knows, I am enslaved to my new owner. What evidence have we given him to think otherwise?” I retort.

“Natasha,” Alex sighs. Hearing her name brings back a flash of memories from her brief stint in Alex’s medical playroom in the basement.

How I watched him work to extract information from her by any means necessary to protect me.

To find information on my son. “If she communicated to anyone that she was meeting Talon to talk about your reproductive rights, it could be a trap. It’s a risk I am not taking. ”

My stomach clenches at the mention of Natasha. Alex is right. There are too many variables, too many ways this could go wrong. But it's Luca. My brother. I can't ignore even the smallest chance of finding him.

“I understand the risk,” I say softly. “But we have to try.”

Alex's shoulders slump slightly, whether from relief or exhaustion, I can't tell. “I know. That's why I haven't stopped working.”

I study him more carefully now, the slight tremor in his hands as he reaches for an energy drink.

He looks like he's running on fumes, pushing himself beyond normal human limits.

I make a decision then. Alex needs to stay focused, but he also needs to stay awake. And I know just how to help with both.

“Move back,” I command, rolling his chair away from the desk.

“What are you?—”

I don't let him finish. I sink to my knees between his legs, looking up at him through my lashes as my hands come to rest on his thighs.

“What are you doing?” His voice cracks slightly.

“Helping you stay awake.”

“Vesper.” Alex grips the armrests. “You don't have to?—”

“I know I don't have to,” I say, my fingers tracing patterns along his inner thighs. “I want to.” I lean closer. “Consider it motivation to work faster.”

His breathing quickens as my hands glide higher, fingers flirting with the edge of his waistband. I see it in his eyes—the flicker of conflict. Desire burning hot, tangled with something heavier. Guilt, maybe.

“This isn't…” he starts, but his words dissolve into a sharp intake of breath as my palm presses against the hardening length beneath the fabric.

“Isn't what?” I challenge, looking up at him. “Isn't something you want? You told me it was my choice.” I hook my fingers into his waistband, tugging slightly. “Well, I’m making it.”

Instead of answering, Alex catches my wrists, stilling my movements. The touch is gentle but firm, his thumbs pressing against my pulse points. “You don't know what you're asking for.”

“I'm pretty sure I do," I counter, not backing down. “Unless you're hiding something else from me?"

Alex's jaw clenches, the muscle ticking beneath his skin. For a heartbeat, we’re caught in a silent stand-off. His grip is firm around my wrists, my body lingering between his legs—close enough to feel the tension rolling off him, thick and electric.

“Vesper...” His voice holds a warning, but there's something else beneath it—a hunger he's fighting to control. “This isn't just about sex for me.”

The admission hangs between us, heavy with implications I'm not sure I'm ready to face. I swallow hard, suddenly feeling vulnerable despite being the one who initiated this.

“Then what is it about?”

His thumbs trace slow circles on my pulse points. “There are things you don’t know about me. Things we need to talk about.”

Before I can process his words, someone knocks at his door. Alex releases my wrists instantly, his expression shuttering close as he rolls his chair back toward his desk.

“Alex?" Talon's voice filters through the door. “We need to talk. Now."

Alex and I exchange a look. The moment is gone, shattered by Talon's impeccable timing.

“Give me a minute," Alex calls back.

I rise to my feet, smoothing my clothes as Alex stands. He towers over me. More than the rest of them.

“We're not done with this conversation," I tell him quietly.

A ghost of a smile touches his lips. “No, we're not. Not in the slightest.”

Talon's expression when I open the door is a mixture of surprise and something that looks suspiciously like relief. His eyes dart between Alex and me.

“Everything okay?” he asks, his tone deliberately casual.

“Peachy,” I reply, brushing past him. “He's all yours.”