Page 119 of Jensen

He turns, mouth thin. “She went to Leland.”

The bottom falls from my stomach. “No, no. When did she go?”

“As soon as you were out.”

I push back the covers, swaying. “You drugged me.”

“Wedrugged you.”

“Why?” My chest hurts so fucking bad.

He gives me a soft stare. “Because she wants her son back. The only way I can do that is to put her on the inside. Then, we draw Leland out and give her a chance to steal him away.”

“She’s not safe,” I breathe.

“He won’t hurt her.”

“How do you know that?” My voice rises.

“Because he loves her,” Brothers says, voice going hard, the way it does when he’s tired of explaining himself.

“That won’t protect her,” I snap back.

The air crackles. I’m so angry at him, I don’t trust myself not to put a bullet in his head. He’s gone and done it again—playing with my life to suit himself.

“Della’s a big girl,” he says. “She knows what she’s doing. You need to respect that.”

“Della is a fucking victim.”

I’m on my feet, steady, circling the bed. He takes a step closer, and everything snaps. Maybe it’s the memory of him teaching me to fight, or the fact that last night, it almost felt like old times again. But God, I am so sick of him.

Quick as a flash, I reach over the bed and grab my gun, training it on him.

“Jen—”

“No, you shut your fucking mouth,” I whisper.

His palms go up. Sweat etches down the side of his lean face. I’m so tempted to pull the trigger, my hand is shaking. But I can’t, not while Della is behind enemy lines. That doesn’t stop me from playing with the idea, fantasizing about what it would feel like to erase him from my life.

“Jen—”

“No,” I spit. “You don’t get to talk right now. You listen.”

He nods, swallowing.

“You might not have meant to, but you ruined my life,” I say. “You fucked me up, fucked me over. And now you dragged me back here, and for what? Forwhat?”

He flicks the inside of his cheek. “I wanted a chance.”

“For what?”

His shoulders heave, sinking. The room is unbearably hot. We’re both sweating hard.

“It was supposed to be us, Jen,” he says finally. “You’re my blood.”

My jaw grits so hard it hurts.

“You are not my father,” I say. “Not my brother. Not my friend. You brought me back here to use me to take out your enemies. I am a useful idiot to you.”