Page 73 of Shattered by Grace (The Locke Empire Duet #1)

Chapter Sixty-Two

V ictoria’s pulse pounded in her ears as she shoved past guests, her dress tangling around her legs. Adams was right behind her, his voice sharp and urgent.

“Victoria, stop!”

She didn’t. Couldn’t. Her mind was racing, panic clawing at her throat. Taylor. Justin. She had just seen them. Taylor had been smiling. She had been leading him…unless that’s what he wanted her to think.

She pushed through the doors into the dimly lit hallway, scanning the space frantically. Nothing.

Adams caught her arm, forcing her to turn.

“Where did he take her?” she demanded, breathless.

His expression tightened. “Victoria?—”

“Where?” she snarled, yanking her arm free. “What aren’t you telling me?”

His silence stretched too long. The pieces fell into place all at once, sharp and unforgiving.

“This wasn’t the plan I was told,” he muttered, shaking his head.

Her chest tightened, her voice shaking with fury. “You… You betrayed me. Why? All this fucking time, how long were you in on it?”

Adams’ face remained stoic, but his silence was deafening. It only made her blood boil harder. She had trusted him, relied on him. He had been her lifeline. Now, she saw him for what he really was. A tool. Another piece in the machine she’d been trying to destroy.

Her fists tightened, nails biting into her palms. “I can’t believe this… I can’t believe you. I’ve been fighting, hiding, running for my fucking life, and you’ve been playing me this whole time.”

“I never wanted this to happen, Victoria.” His words felt rehearsed, the weight of them not matching the softness of his tone. “You don’t understand what it’s like on the other side.”

Her voice faltered as the anger that had burned bright began to dim, replaced by a cold emptiness. Betrayal. The bitter realization sank in like a stone in her chest.

“What the hell did they promise you?” she whispered, the weight of the question almost too much to bear. “What did they offer you in exchange for your soul?”

Adams’ jaw tightened, his eyes flicking away. But his silence was louder than anything he could have said. He took a step back, distancing himself from her.

The heat in Victoria’s chest roared back to life, an inferno of rage.

“The silence is absolutely fucking loud, Adams,” she hissed, her voice dripping with venom.

“You can’t even look me in the eye anymore.

” Her head spun, anger and confusion twisting like a knife.

She had trusted him, had let her guard down, and now everything felt like a lie.

“You wanted me here, didn’t you?” she spat.

“You wanted me to walk right into their trap. All this time, you wanted me to get close, to trust you, to fail.”

Adams didn’t move. His eyes flitted to the side, guilt flickering briefly before it was masked by indifference.

Victoria’s eyes narrowed with renewed fury. “How long, Adams?” Her voice was low but dangerous, each syllable carrying the weight of a verdict. “How long have you been working with them? How many lives have you ruined for your own gain?”

The six-foot-tall detective looked more like a reprimanded juvenile than a man of the law, and the irony was almost comical. His gaze flickered away, unable to meet her eyes.

Victoria stood firm, letting the silence stretch between them, unrelenting and suffocating. Her heart pounded, but she didn’t falter. No more games. No more lies.

Her voice came quiet, each word deliberate. “How many people did you let die just to protect your fucking position?”

Adams flinched. He looked wrecked, like a man cornered with no way out.

“I never wanted to hurt anyone but I had to protect myself,” his voice wavered. “Cassian found me. Showed up at my house. He didn’t offer money. He offered to not kill my son if I made sure you would show up at the Reaping.”

Victoria’s stomach twisted, rage and disbelief colliding in her chest.

Adams started pacing, his movements frantic.

“Cassian held a gun to my three-year-old son’s head, Victoria.

A fucking gun.” He dragged a hand down his face, fingers pressing against his temple as if trying to hold himself together.

“That fucks a man up. I will do anything to protect my family. They will always come first.”

The confession sat between them like a ticking bomb. Victoria exhaled, her breath shaky.

“So, you told Cassian about Taylor,” she said, her voice deadly calm. “You knew I would come if she was in danger.”

Adams hesitated. “Yes. Justin offered to be her date and bring her.”

The fury in her was too much. She grabbed his jacket and shoved him against the nearest wall, her breathing ragged. She looked him dead in the eyes, and all she saw was a weak man, albeit one who understood what it meant to protect family.

“FUCK!” she screamed, her fist slamming into the wall beside his head.

The confirmation felt like a bullet to her ribs.

Fuck . She ripped the mask from her face, the weight of the truth suffocating.

“I tried to tell you how dangerous they were,” Adams muttered, shoulders sagging. “They have a reach that even I underestimated.”

Victoria clenched her jaw, swallowing the bitterness rising in her throat as she turned away from him. “You didn’t just underestimate them,” she said, voice shaking with barely contained fury. “You handed me to them on a silver fucking platter.”

Adams swallowed hard, his face drawn. “I thought I could control it.”

Victoria let out a humorless laugh. “Well, congratulations, Detective. You just became the very thing you swore to fight against.”

She turned away, her mind spinning. Taylor was still out there, and she had wasted too much time already.

“I’m going after her,” she said, steel in her voice.

Adams grabbed her wrist. “Victoria, wait?—”

Victoria wrenched free, her eyes burning with fury. “No. You don’t get to try and stop me.” She turned on her heel, heading straight for the door.

“You could die,” Adams said quietly.

She stopped, glancing over her shoulder. “Then I will die protecting my friend.”

Adams exhaled, his voice raw. “Victoria, I am so sorry. You have to believe me. I’ve watched you grow up into this amazing young woman?—”

“Don’t.” She spun back to face him, eyes flashing. “Just don’t. You’re no better than the rest of them.”

Her hands reached up, slowly pulling the pins from her hair, the movement deliberate. Controlled. Preparing for war. “If you really felt bad, if you really wanted to make this right, then get your FBI connection to show up at the club.”

Adams hesitated. “Victoria…”

“That’s where Taylor is, isn’t it?” Her voice was deadly calm.

He exhaled sharply, guilt flashing in his eyes. “Justin took her there. That’s where Cassian wants you to go.”

Victoria’s grip on the hairpins tightened. Of course .

“Did Tristan know about this plan?”

Adams shook his head quickly. “N-no. Neither Tyson nor Tristan knew. I think Cassian is trying to test their loyalty tonight.”

A sharp, humorless laugh left her lips. “You’re guessing?”

“Are you and Tristan together?”

Her eyes snapped to him, annoyance flaring.

What the fuck does that have to do with anything? She thought.

She shook her head, tying her hair back, every motion slow and methodical, as if giving him one last chance to make this right.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Get on the fucking phone, Adams. Make the calls. Because I swear to God, if one hair is out of place on Taylor’s head, I will burn this fucking city to the ground.”

Words failed Adams. His jaw tensed, his fingers twitching at his sides as if reaching for something…an excuse, a defense, anything…but nothing came. He just swallowed hard.

She stepped closer, voice dropping to a lethal whisper. “And I’ll make sure your house is on that list.”