Page 95 of Ruthless Commander

I had to put this all aside.

For now.

I splashed cold water on my face, smoothed my hair, then headed out and climbed into the car once more.

“Better?” he asked as I snapped my seatbelt in place.

“Much.”

We drove out, following the GPS as we headed into the city and made our way to a smaller residential suburb. I glanced at the dark houses as we passed, then turned instead to a more commercial area. Mateo glanced at the GPS, then pulled up outside what looked like a warehouse.

“I’ll be back in a second.” He murmured, putting the car into park.

But he didn’t need to as we watched the towering gate roll open, leaving us to drive through.

“On second thought.” He added.

We both climbed out after we parked. Hinges squealed as the gate closed, drawing my focus as I closed the door behind me.

“This way.” Mateo headed for a set of stairs.

I followed and climbed. Before we reached the top, the door gave aclick.Mateo glanced at me as he opened the door and pushed in. I followed him, trusting he knew who this guy was. Memories rushed back to me as I stepped into the gloomy darkness of a hall.

“Close the door behind you, please.” Came a voice from nowhere.

It seemed like nowhere, at least. Still, I closed it behind me. The pungent scene of coffee filled the air, making my belly clench just like it had last night with the steaks.

“No, you don’t.” I whispered, driving down the nearly overwhelming nausea.

“Mateo.” A male called as I followed Mateo into a faintly lit room and saw rows and rows of monitors fixed against the wall.

And in an instant, that security room on the island came rushing back to me.

We were back there.

Fighting for our lives.

Knowing deep down we weren’t going to make it.

“Hayden. I appreciate you seeing us.”

The guy in front of the monitor swiveled around, finally meeting our gazes. “So…”

“So.” Mateo repeated.

“You’re Edon’s brother?”

“I am.”

“The one they callKomendant.”

Mateo didn’t answer. He didn’t like that part of his life surfacing. Not with strangers, not even with me. I knew nothing about his life before he came to the US. Nothing about his childhood, or the origin of his title ‘Commander’, but sitting here now, hearing the way this…stranger called him Komendant.

I knew it wasn’t good.

The temperature in the room grew colder as Mateo stared the guy down. Goosebumps raced along my arms. For a second, I thought he was going to pull his gun and put a bullet through the guy’s skull.

“He said you were a hardass.” The schmuck murmured. “I can see now, he wasn’t lying. So,Mateo,let’s find your damn brother.”