Page 57 of Ravaged By the Dark (The Righteous 2)
He turned his glare on Renee and walked forward until he stared down at her.
“I need to know if we can trust you, Renee. I need to know you will never speak of who we are to anyone, even if they’re your long-lost fucking grandmother or torturing the ever-loving fuck out of you. Because this is a life and death situation for everyone involved. We can only take on this risk if you are all in.”
“I have no intention of saying anything to anyone.”
“I don’t care about your intentions. I care about your promise, your word, and where your loyalty lies.” He lowered his head, and she swallowed hard. “I want you to swear on your brothers’ lives that you will never breathe a word, or it will be their lives I will take first.”
“Trev, come on,” Arek started, but he cut him off.
“Shut up, Arek! You should have consulted with me before you made a monumental decision and brought this kind of risk into our home. So if you want her to stay here, then she makes a blood oath.”
He looked back to Renee, and fear was evident in her eyes, yet she firmly held her brother’s hand and placed him behind herself. He liked that her first instinct was to protect others, so Trev now planned on using that character trait.
“What is your answer, Renee? Are you all in on The Righteous and upholding our secret, or are you going to force my hand to make a more drastic choice?”
“I promise on my brothers’ lives that I won’t say a word ever to anyone about any of this—you, Arek, the mission, the Righteous—none of it.” Her chin was up, her lips pursed, and he weighed the truth of her answer as he stared into her eyes.
“Very well. You will have to remain here until this is over. That means no work, no school, and no whatever else you do unless Arek goes with you.” Renee opened her mouth as if she might argue but closed it and nodded. “Arek will show you to your room.”
“Thanks, brother,” Arek said, giving him a small smile. Son-of-a-bitch, he hated this idea, but Arek wanted it, and he had a weak spot for his brother.
Arek escorted the small party back out the office door. As soon as the door was closed, Trev swore a blue streak and poured himself a large glass of some well-aged whiskey. Relationships were not something men in their position could have. His brother was playing a high-stakes game, and all their lives were on the table. Yes, some of The Righteous had families, but they were always a liability. It created a way for people to play on their emotions and manipulate them.
Trevor leaned against the desk and thought. He needed to find a way to make sure this situation didn’t blow up in all their faces.
“Don’t mind my brother. He’ll come around,” Arek said as he led Renee and J.J. down a long hall and then up the stairs to the floor that was his living area.
The house was designed to have two separate wings for sleeping quarters and bathrooms. It was Trev’s idea to make sure that he never had to deal with listening to Arek fuck the house down. At the time, it seemed ridiculous to have so much space all to himself, but not now.
“I hope so. He seemed more like the ‘he’d kill me and chew on my bones’ type. I can’t believe that is the same man that got my credit card issue sorted out.”
Arek squeezed her shoulder.
“Trev is actually a marshmallow. He’s just protective, always has been. The two of you have that in common. If anyone threatened J.J., you would do whatever you could to protect him. Trev has the same instincts, and as long as you understand that, you understand him.” Renee nodded but didn’t say any more.
Arek stopped at the first door and flicked on the room’s light. “This will be J.J.’s room. Did you want to get him settled, and then I can show you to your room?”
“Arek, this room is bigger than my entire house. The two of us can stay in here together.”
“I’d really like to speak with you privately,” Arek said as he sat the large tiger beside the bed. He knelt down in front of J.J., who had been very quiet during the whole ordeal. At the house, Renee packed him a bag, and he didn’t complain. And then, in the car, he stared out the window, not saying a word.
“Do you mind if I steal your sister for a little while,” he asked J.J. He had to give the kid credit—he was brave for such a young age. He walked over and wrapped his arms around his neck. Arek returned the hug, not sure what prompted this affection. He’d figured that he would be terrified of him now after seeing that fight with Cody.
“You’ll keep Nae Nae safe from the monsters now?” J.J. leaned back, his eyes way wiser than a four-year-old’s should be. Arek’s heart melted into a puddle of goo.
“Yeah, little man, you’ve done a great job, but I think it’s time you were just a kid for a bit, and I’ll take over looking out for your sister. You okay with that?”
J.J. crossed his arms over his chest, his brow furrowed. Arek had to bite back his smile at the tough impression. J.J. touched the bruise on the side of his face.
“Tyson mean. He wants to hurt Nae Nae. He sneaks into the house to watch her sleep. I’m sorry I didn’t get him to leave.”
A sharp intake of air came from Renee, and he looked over J.J.’s shoulder to see the shock and terror in her eyes. Renee looked like she’d had one too many shocks tonight.
“Yeah, he is really mean. Did he sneak in a lot?” Arek prompted. J.J. lifted a shoulder. “Like, did he sneak in every night or just once and a while?” Not that either of those options made Arek feel any better.
“I don’t know. He did come visit more when mommy was there. He would sneak in her room when it was late, and they had sex.” Arek’s eyes went wide, and Renee looked like she might faint.
“How do you know what sex is, J.J.?” He was terrified for this answer.
