Page 32 of All The Darkest Truths (Second Sons Duet #2)

VESPER

The basement stairs creak, betraying my presence with every step. I don't care. Let Alex hear me coming. Let him prepare whatever bullshit arguments he thinks will keep me on the sidelines while they chase down the only lead to my brother.

The air grows cooler as I descend to Alex’s sanctuary—the place where he keeps his most secretive tools and sharpest skills hidden from casual eyes.

I find him exactly where I expected, hunched over the weapons cabinet, methodically checking a matte black handgun before sliding it into a shoulder holster.

“I'm going with you,” I announce it like a fact, not a request.

Alex doesn't even look up. “No, you're not.”

“It wasn't a question.” I move closer, positioning myself between him and the cabinet. “It's my brother.”

“Which is exactly why you can't come.” His voice is maddeningly calm. “You're too close to this, Vesper. Too recognizable. Too valuable.”

“Too valuable?” I repeat, anger flaring hot in my chest. “I'm not some priceless vase you need to keep on a high shelf. I am going with you and Talon.”

“No, you're not,” Alex says, sliding past me to access another drawer in the cabinet. “And you know why.”

I grab his arm, forcing him to face me. “We're this close,” I hold my thumb and forefinger a hair's width apart, “and you're telling me to sit at home like some helpless princess waiting for her knights to return? Not happening.”

Alex studies me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he sighs, setting down the magazine he was holding.

“You think I don't understand?” His voice drops lower, more intimate somehow. “Vesper, if they see you, if they even suspect you're there, everything falls apart. This isn't about keeping you safe, though that's part of it. This is about getting Luca back.”

“I'll stay hidden,” I argue. “They’ll never know I'm there.”

“You can't promise that.” He steps closer, close enough that I can smell the coffee on his breath. “These people took everything from you once already. Don't give them the chance to do it again.”

“So I'm just supposed to what? Sit here and wait? While you and Talon risk your lives?”

“Yes.” His bluntness is infuriating. “That's exactly what you're supposed to do.”

I turn away, pacing the length of the basement, frustration building with each step. I hate that Alex is right.

I hate even more that I can't argue with his logic.

“I can't just do nothing,” I finally say, my voice softer but no less determined.

Alex returns to his preparations, methodically checking each weapon before placing it in a black duffel bag. “You won't be doing nothing. You'll be coordinating with us from here. Oscar's

setting up a command center in the living room.”

“That’s not the same, and you know it.” I lean against the workbench, eyes tracking the movements of his fingers. The same ones that held me as I slept just hours ago. “What if something goes wrong?”

“Something always goes wrong,” he replies without looking up. “That's why we plan for contingencies.”

I push off from the bench and move closer, deliberately invading his space. “And what's the contingency if they recognize Talon? What then?”

Alex finally stops what he's doing, setting down the knife he was inspecting. “Then we adapt,” he says simply. “Like we always do.”

“Not good enough.”

“It has to be.” His voice softens. “Vesper, I get it. I do. But this is the play we have to make.”

I shake my head, frustrated tears threatening to fall. I blink them back, refusing to show weakness.

“You need backup. Not just Talon, “I insist. “Z and Oscar?—”

“Are staying here with you,” Alex finishes firmly. “If this goes sideways, you'll need protection. The last thing we want is to leave you vulnerable.”

The truth of his words hits me like a physical blow. They're not just worried about me being recognized. They're worried about The Collector making a move against me while they're away. Using me as leverage if they discover who Charles Blackwood really is.

“I hate this,” I admit.

“I know you do,” he says. “But Luca needs you to be smart right now, not brave. There will be plenty of time for that after we get him home. He’s going to need you. You’re the only person who knows what he’s gone through.”

His words strike a chord deep within me. I've been so focused on doing something, anything, that I haven't considered what Luca would actually want. He wouldn't want me risking my safety, putting myself back in The Collector's crosshairs.

“Fine,” I concede, though the word tastes bitter. “Promise me something? Promise me you'll bring Talon back. If something goes wrong, he’ll be the first one to volunteer to try to fix it.”

“I will,” he answers flatly.

“The same goes for you. You seem to be more sensible than the rest of them, but I can’t lose you either. As much as I want my brother back, I refuse to sacrifice you or Talon in the process.”

I don't plan what happens next. One moment I'm standing there, begging Alex to come back to me, and the next, I'm pressing my lips against his. I deepen the kiss, drawing him closer. For once, I want to infiltrate that meticulous self-control he wears like armor. I want to see what lies beneath.

Alex responds by backing me against the weapons cabinet, the metal cool against my shoulder blades as his body presses against mine. One hand slides up to cradle my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone with surprising gentleness, even as his kiss grows more demanding until he pulls away from me

“That wasn't fair.”

“I don't play fair. Not when it matters.”

"Vesper..." He takes a deliberate step back, putting space between us. "This isn't the time. You’re looking for a distraction, and I told you. I will not be that for you.”

"If we keep waiting for the right moment, Alex, it will never arrive. We keep hoping for a time without distractions, but we both know there will always be something. Even if we manage to bring my brother back, we'll just be bracing for the next crisis,” I declare, rallying the courage to finish. “You told me to make the decision. Well, I’m making it.”

His jaw clenches, a muscle ticking beneath the surface as he studies me. The basement feels suddenly smaller, charged with an electricity that makes the air heavy between us.

“You don't know what you're asking for. Not with me.”

“I'm not asking for anything,” I counter, stepping forward to close the distance he created. “I'm telling you what I want. There's a difference.”

Something shifts in his expression, as if he's physically restraining himself from reaching for me.

“You deserve better than what I can give you. Better than what I am.”

“That’s not for you to decide.” I place my palm against his chest, feeling his heart pounding beneath my touch. “I know exactly who you are, Alex. I’ve seen your shadows. I’ve witnessed what you’re capable of, and I’m still here.”

“No, you haven’t. Not all of it.”

“Then show me,” I challenge, tilting my chin up. “Stop hiding from me.”

Alex’s expression hardens, his eyes turning cold in a way I’ve never seen before. He moves with startling speed, gripping my wrists and pinning them above my head against the weapons cabinet.

The metal digs into my back as he leans in, his breath hot against my ear.

“You think you want this? I'm not like them, Vesper. Not like Oscar, Z, or Talon. They want to please you, worship you, give you whatever you need.” His grip tightens, not enough to hurt but enough to make his point.

“I want to break you until there's nothing left.

Until you're shattered and remade in the image I choose.”

His words should repel me, but instead, they draw me closer, like a moth to a flame.

“I can't love you the way they do,” he continues. “I don't have that softness in me. It was carved out long ago.”

I stare back. “I never asked for softness.”

His laugh is low and empty. “You say that now. But when you see what I really am—what I’m capable of—you’ll run. They always do.”

“I’m not them,” I fire back. “I’m already broken, Alex. The Collector made sure of that. He took pieces of me I’ll never get back. There’s nothing left for you to shatter that hasn’t already been destroyed.”

His grip on my wrists loosens, just slightly. A flicker of something—surprise, maybe—crosses his face.

“You think I’m afraid of what you carry?” I press closer, our lips nearly touching. “I’ve lived in shadows for years. I’ve survived things that should have killed me. Whatever demons you’re hiding…they don’t scare me.”

Alex steps back, releasing my wrists. For a breath, the mask he always wears slips, and I see it—raw, unguarded vulnerability.

“You don’t understand,” he says quietly. “I’ve broken people, Vesper. Men. Women. People who thought they could love me...fix me...survive me.” He shakes his head, a bitter edge cutting through every word. “They all believed they could handle what I am. What I need. They were all wrong.”

“And what is it you need?” I ask, rubbing my wrists where his fingers had been.

“I need to possess, to dominate, to own every part of someone until there's nothing left that isn't mine. You can’t give me that when Oz, Z, and Talon have pieces of you, too.”

“That's not how it works,” I say, stepping forward to close the distance between us again. “They don't have pieces of me like I'm some puzzle being divided up. What I share with each of them, with you, is whole and complete in its own way.”

Alex's jaw tightens as he scans my face as if searching for something. Whatever he sees there makes him shake his head slightly. “You think I'm incapable of giving each of you what you need?”

“I think,” he says deliberately, “that what I need would terrify you.”

“You clearly don't know me very well.”

“This isn't a game, Vesper.”

“I never said it was.” I move closer until we're almost touching. “But you're making assumptions about what I can and can't handle based on nothing but your own fears. I decide what I am