Play Dirty (Wages of Sin #2) - Neve Wilder Page 0,46

food.

He gave the back of the metal chair a few solid tugs to confirm it wouldn’t budge, then gave up and retrieved the bottles of water from the ground, guzzling one after the other and dropping them under the chair when he was finished.

Folding his arms over his chest, Madigan stared at the door and forced the buzz of his fears into the back of his mind. The silence sure as fuck didn’t help. But he’d been through this before, he reminded himself, and he’d gotten out of it alive.

Far more unsettling was his reaction to Az’s voice and touch even at the height of his fury, how the familiarity of it had wrapped around his core like a warm blanket. Maybe he could blame that on whatever drugs Az had given him because it sure as fuck made no logical sense.

Madigan dozed off and on between the throbbing in his cheek and the unrelenting churn of his thoughts, jerking awake when he heard the squeal of the door opening once more. He bet the hinges were rusted on purpose, some kind of psyops tactic to instill anxiety, probably, and he was sorry to say it worked pretty damn well.

13

Azrael

The further Az got from Madi, the more painful the pull to return became. Az needed to explain himself, needed Madi to see the bigger picture. But what could he say that would make up for what he’d done? In the moment, with needle in hand, he couldn’t see any other way to accomplish his goal, but looking at Madi, broken and betrayed, Az wished he’d thought of another plan. Why hadn’t Madi popped up sooner? Admitted his feelings sooner? It was his fault, really.

That was what Az tried to tell himself, anyway. He’d had almost a month to convince himself Madi had this coming, that whatever happened to him in that room would be punishment enough for making Az feel something only to rip it away from him out of nowhere. He’d run through the plan a thousand times, he’d thought of every possible outcome, all but Madi baring his soul, telling Az he’d missed him. All but Madi, vulnerable and compliant in Az’s bed, letting him use him, carve his initial into his flesh, mark him. Why had Madi had a change of heart just when Az had finally convinced himself he could find a way through his hurt?

Az clenched his teeth until the muscle in his jaw twitched. There was nothing to be done about it now. The plan was already in motion. Madi was a prisoner. Az could only pray that Madi understood this was the way it had to be. He shook his head, trying to focus on the task at hand. It had taken far too many negotiations and just as many lies to get to this point. He just had to trust that Madi would eventually see the ends justify the means.

Az nodded to one of the six guards in the warehouse, who gave him a quizzical look but didn’t question Az’s arrival since he’d come with one of the bosses, though not Bennington. He needed Bennington. That was the only bargaining chip he’d have with Madi. His only shot at a mea culpa.

He checked his watch. Bennington was supposed to have arrived by now. Az could hardly make a gift of Madi if the recipient didn’t show up to receive him. A strange sliver of nerves ran along Az’s spine. Was he being set up? Was Ryan just playing him? Had he figured out he had ulterior motives?

If so, at least he and Madi would die together. There was some sort of poetic justice in that. Perhaps Madi would forgive him in the afterlife? Did people like them even get an afterlife?

Az leaned against the wall closest to the entrance, doing his best to look bored while he scanned the warehouse. In a perfect world, Az would have been able to stake out the place in advance like they had in Brazil, but that wasn’t possible. After Bennington’s Rio warehouse had been “inexplicably” raided and the girls rescued, Bennington had closed ranks around his other properties. With his two partners ‘missing,’ Az agreed Bennington’s paranoia was warranted.

It hadn’t taken Az much time at all to convince Ryan that they could use Bennington’s paranoia against him, especially once he explained to him that he’d made a mistake trusting Madi, that he’d fled with the money they’d vowed to split. Ryan had delusions of grandeur,