Page 18 of Point Proven
Cutting me off, he lifted a hand. “Ever since Liam confided in me about his past, I’ve been researching to try and pin down the man responsible for his torment. My final decision to establish this organization came as soon as I determined his location and the operations he oversees. He was Andrew Valens’ right hand and go-to witheverythingregardingthe black market and human trafficking.”
“My father’s right hand?”
Thorne nodded. “In comparison to his other partnerships that waded in the depths of corruption, your father spent over ten million dollars more on Stefan Ðordevic. Needless to say, he seemed to have a favorite.”
Oren blanched, a nod sufficing as his engagement.
“I want him dead,” Simon muttered, running his palm along my leg like he always did to calm me. “Actually, I want himmorethan dead.”
“That’s our goal.” Leaning back, Thorne folded his arms over his chest. “But we have to be strategic about how we move. If Stefan happens to figure out where Liam is, that will only throw an even larger wrench into the works.”
“He does know,” Simon answered, his voice void of its normal vibrancy.
Thorne fell still, his chest rising with a shuddered breath.“What?”
“He called earlier, fucked mentally with Liam, and said he’d put a bullet between my brows while?—”
“Simon, stop.”
“Liam,”Thorne practically snarled, his gaze settling on me. “When thefuckdid this happen?”
“Right before we came over here. Thorne, I swear, I’m not keeping anything from you. I had no clue that he?—”
“Did he hint at knowing anything further?”
My stomach sank, every single word Stefan uttered coming back to haunt me. “He saw us… or had eyes on us… at… at the diner.”
“And he knows about you and Oren,” Simon added, finally lifting his gaze. “He, uh, said if we told you, he’d cut off Oren’s head and serve it to your dogs.”
It was Oren’s turn to grip the table, his breath catching as he struggled to regulate his inhales. As his stability fractured, Thorne’s evaporated, knuckles driving into the wood with a force that immediately drew blood.
“FUCK!”
“He…myhead?” Oren brushed his fingers over his neck, his cerulean irises darkening as he slipped somewhere else.
“Ah, fuck, Oren. I didn’t mean to?—”
“Shut thefuckup, O’Neill,” Thorne barked, running a hand through his hair. “You’ve said fucking plenty at this point. Given the progression, I need to push the urgency of this meeting with Sebastian. We do not have a fucking week to spare.”
The room spun with his admittance, the sudden spike in his uncertainty bringing forth every doubt I’d concealed for years. In escaping Stefan, I had dragged the safety of every person Iloved into the mix, and now, someone was going to get hurt because of me. He’d threatened Simon and Oren, but I knew if he could get his hands on Thorne… he wouldn’t hesitate. The past I’d tried to escape had become the very thing to rip our safety out from beneath us.
It wasmyfault.
Piping in, I stood up. “I’ll just… I’ll just offer myself to him. I can’t… I can’t keep fucking doing this anymore. You guys are indangerbecause of me, and I… I-I… I?—”
Simon slapped his hands on the table as he jumped to his feet. “Fuck that! You think I would willingly let you go? And you’re suggesting… you’re suggestingleaving?”
“What else am I supposed to do?!” I screamed, pointing between the three of them. “All of you are fucking panicking, and it’s because ofme!My past and the danger it brought forward! My history and Thorne’s desire to help! It falls onme!”
“Because we all love you!” Simon shouted, slamming his fist into the wood. “And I would rather take a bullet between my brows?—”
“Stop it!”It was a guttural yell that tore from my throat, tremors rocking my frame as I blinked back tears. “S-Stop… Stop it!”
Simon paused, flexing his fingers as he looked at me. With a softened tone, he continued. “If you think I’m able to let you go back to him willingly, you don’t know me. We all know the risks, but you’re worth it.”
I spoke before I could stop myself, the words spilling from me with a harshness I didn’t intend. “And you want to know what he told me, Simon? He said that even if you attempted to fucking fight to keep me around, all it would take was one fucking kick to render you useless.”
“Liam…” Thorne warned, his tongue dancing across his teeth.
