Page 47 of Crave

Staring up at me like she did that motherfucker in the camera.

I wanted her naked, spread out in front of me. I wanted her…I wanted herbegging.

“Jesus.” A shudder ripped through me.

Begging and desperate. Familiar. That’s what I wanted. I wanted something I could use whenever I wanted. Another image carved into my mind. A memory. Theo stared at her with a look of cruel hunger. He felt it too, that need to bring this stuck-up little bitch to her knees.

The idea of that didn’t repulse me, not like it should.

I released my hold making my way into the bathroom and hit the taps, washing my hands. Because she’s a liar. The thought came to me. I lifted my head, finding my darkened stare. She needs to be taught a lesson. One we were obligated to teach her. There’s nowhere she can run, no one who can save her. She wants to befamily. Then she will be, she’ll be family now whether she wants it or not.

I hit the taps, letting my fingers drip before I reached for the towel and wiped before casting it aside and fixed up my jeans. At least I wasn’t stiff as a board. Not yet at least. It was time to think, time to plan. I wanted to go back out to that place, to the ruin that was the Order and search the hallways more.

There had to be things I was missing. Who was the man behind the camera? Who was the bastard responsible for my parent’s death? Someone had to know. I needed to find that someone.

I snatched my keys and headed out, making sure I didn’t look toward her room, knowing damn well that aching void inside would bellow and howl.

I headed out of the rear of the house, climbing onto the Ducati before I started the engine, bringing the engine to life. The heavy throb was what I needed. I yanked on my black helmet, pulled the tinted visor down and pulled out of the garage and left the house behind.

A house I’d never really felt part of.

It was an art gallery for my mother. A talking point between her and her stuffy goddamn friends as they sat at their fundraisers and a house that held secrets with my father. Murmured conversations were held behind closed doors. Shady deals which he kept from me.

But not anymore.

My father demanded we stay there, then stay there we would. All of us.

I gunned the engine, pushing the bike harder as I headed for the city. That nagging desire to go back out to that empty building filled me. But not under the cover of darkness. In the light, where I could get a better look.

Incoming call, Sloane Brooks.

“Answer.” I commanded.

“Silas.” Our head of operations called. “I’m sorry to disturb, but we have a situation here.”

I scowled, pulling in around a line of cars. “What kind of situation?”

“A breech of epic proportions.”

My hand slipped on the throttle. Fear plunged deep before I turned the wheel taking the closest off-ramp. “I’m on my way.”

I made the trip in record time, pulling into the driveway of the inconspicuous accountant building and parked the bike near the rear entrance. There was no buzzer on the door, no way to get in at all unless you had an access card. But you can bet your life you were being watched. I lifted my gaze to the cameras and hit my card against the scanner.

Buzz

Click.

I pushed open the door and strode in, heading for the elevators. The building was three stories high. But it wasn’t what I wanted. I stepped into the elevators and pressed the button marked no access, then I went down, stopping at a level very few people visited.

The dark room was alight with monitors. I strode along the floor between the row of desks that sat a number of high-level operators who ran the backbone of the Ares empire. This wasn’t just a building, equipped with state-of-the-art protection, encryption technology and the kind of detection systems the FBI or CIA could only dream of.

Lights flickered in the bank of servers behind the glass wall. I turned right at the end and headed to the only brightly lit office in this place and slowed at the door.

The man sitting behind the desk lifted his head, a scowl etched deep between his brows. “This is bad, Silas.”

What, no hello?

“You said that. How bad?”