Page 52 of The Games We Play (Balance of Power #3)

SEAMUS

M y eyes bounce back and forth between Mimi’s hand and Nathan’s mouth, as I read what he’s saying to her.

He claims what he did wasn’t a crime. Saying she begged him for it. Justifying his actions, acting like the complete narcissist that he is.

This is fucking bullshit.

Glancing around the room, I appraise the guards as they monitor the inmates. The same number of guards match the amount of cameras facing toward the visitation room. Footage that would miraculously disappear if they needed it to.

Which is why anything Nathan does or doesn’t do during this visit with Mimi puts me on alert. The footage can be interpreted or used against her and it’s putting me on edge.

I have no idea what Mimi was looking for, wanting to talk to him face to face like this. Acceptance, forgiveness, admission of guilt? None of which she’ll receive from him. Some people are just born scum of the Earth, and there is nothing anyone can do to change that.

I watch as he continues to appraise her. His eyes swooping down to her chest and back up to her face as he continues to manipulate his words. He’s been nothing but condescending and threatening from the moment he sat down, and I won’t be able to hold out much longer.

As he leans closer to her, his face dips behind Mimi. Instinctively, I shift my stance so I can get a better angle at his face, but keep myself in the corner of the room, blending in with the guards.

Finding his lips, I read his words.

I have dreamt of the day that I can pay you back with the same pain and suffering you’ve caused me, and it will come. It will come very, very soon, sweetheart. In fact…I’ve always wanted to visit Seattle.

What. The. Fuck.

I keep my gaze locked on him as I take a step forward.

He mentions the cul-de-sac she lives on—that we live on —and coming for her.

I’ve had enough. My body jolts forward, rushing toward her. Mimi begins to lean back, but before she can stand, Nathan rises above her, slamming his hands over hers.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he grits through clenched teeth, losing any control he was trying to maintain.

Mimi is shutting down. I can see it in the slouch of her shoulders as she looks down at her restrained hands.

“Get your fucking hands off of her!” I yell as I rush toward their table.

He’s laser focused on her and ignores me, probably thinking I’m just a guard yelling out from the sidelines.

Just before I step up to the table, Mimi stands, ripping her wrists out from his tight grip, balls her fist, and jabs him straight in the nose.

De-ja-vu.

I stagger briefly from shock as I come up behind her.

He stands to his full height as he calmly lifts his hand to his nose, pressing into the nostrils, then peers at the red liquid laced over the tips of his fingers. Blood begins to drip, pouring over his lips and between the cracks of his teeth.

He’s smiling, the blood adding to his devilish demeanor. His pupils are blown out as he stares at her like she’s the only thing he can see.

“We’re done here,” I say, treading carefully because she’s closer to him than I am. I wrap my hand softly around Mimi’s elbow, attempting to pull her behind me.

“We’re not done until I say we’re done.” His bloody hand lurches forward, shaping his fingers to cup her neck.

Grabbing his forearm with my free hand, I pull Mimi back and spin her away from him. With a flick of my wrist, I twist his arm behind his back, then push him forward over the table.

Leaning down, I drive all my weight over the top of him, squeezing the delicate joints in his wrists. I put as much pressure on them as possible, making him feel the pain Mimi felt when she was held against her will, then bring my mouth closer to his ear.

“You’re going to regret everything you’ve ever done to any woman you’ve ever looked at. And Mimi, she’s mine. She’s always been mine. And the only thing she’ll ever feel when she thinks of you is gratefulness, for how much you’ll suffer when I fucking kill you.”

In my peripheral vision, I see guards starting to approach. I let him go and airplane my arm out to push Mimi back. He turns as he stands, wiping his bloody nose with the sleeve, then looks down at the stained mess of his jumpsuit.

His nose is still leaking and I puff out my chest with pride that my girl did that.

As his gaze returns to us, he squints, brows pinched.

“I know you,” he says as both a question and a statement.

“There’s only one thing you need to know about me.” I lean forward to speak directly to him. “I can make you silently disappear or make a spectacle of your death.” I can’t help but quirk my lips up with a smirk. “Either way, I promise you, it’ll be the most fun I’ll have in a long time.”

He looks at the guards, as if to try and save him.

I push back and look over at Mimi. She stands strong with a fire burning in her eyes, like he fed her desire to finally feel the rage.

“Let’s go, Seamus. I’m done here. I got what I needed,” Mimi says, calling the shots.

I take advantage of her acceptance to leave and guide her out. I don’t look back, but can feel his laser gaze directly on our backs.

As we exit the visitation room into the lobby, Whitlock is walking toward me from the entrance, his concerned eyes bouncing between me and the other guards.

“What the hell, Seamus?” he spits out. Calling me by my first name is a rarity, especially for a previous Petty Officer under my lead.

“You need to report his attack on Mimi to the warden,” I demand.

“Are you out of your fucking mind? Nobody here is going to corroborate your story,” he says, pulling me to the corner.

“He threatened her and he knows where she lives. What he did should prevent him from having an appeal hearing,” I tell him, even though I know that’s a fucking pipe dream.

“Every guard in this prison is on his payroll in some form or fashion. His family owns half the state of Texas, and his brother-in-law is running for assistant district attorney. I want to help you, but there is nothing we can do about that here.”

He’s right. I know he’s right, and knew we would be powerless even if he physically harmed Mimi. Which is why I was so hesitant about bringing her here. He could have killed her in that room and they would have brushed it under the rug. It’s their word against ours .

But as I peer past Whitlock, Mimi is looking down at her hands with a smile on her face that could rival a billboard advertisement. She’s beaming with satisfaction, and her once heavy shoulders look lifted, weightless.

Her voluptuous, dark hair surrounds her face in waves.

The light in her eyes, the one I saw the moment she wrapped her arm around mine that first day at camp, has returned with more intensity and strength than I ever thought possible.

Even standing in this dingy locker room, she’s never looked as beautiful as she does at this moment.

As if she can sense my gaze, she glances up, her smile grows even wider and with one brow hitched, she mouths, “Plan B?”

I can’t help but smile back.

She finally sees what a threat he is, not only to her, but to other women.

He’s been keeping tabs on her, and clearly had every intention to find her and do god knows what when he was released.

I’m glad he showed her his cards, because it justified her acceptance in what I’ve been wanting to do all along.

There’s not an ounce of guilt on that gorgeous face of hers, and I fucking love it.

Pulling out my phone, I text Rocco and Miller.

Me: Orion is visible in three hours.

My eyes focus back on Whitlock as he studies me, waiting for my next move. He was only with my squad for a short time, but there’s something special about the camaraderie of military brothers.

The loyalty never dies.

“I’m going to need your help at the courthouse.”

Giving me a tight-lipped smile, he says, “Follow me.”