Truth (Betrothed #10) - Penelope Sky Page 0,51

they’re back together. And she told me it would stay that way, regardless of how I feel about it.”

He shrugged. “There’s nothing you can do about it, Damien.”

“I’m realizing that.”

“Unless you kill him.”

“I promised I wouldn’t.”

He looked at the floor for a while. “Then I think you should let it go.”

I gave a sarcastic chuckle. “Yeah…so easy to do.”

“The guy is trash and doesn’t deserve your sister. But outlawing him isn’t going to do anything at this point.”

“Do I need to remind you why I hate him?”

“No,” Hades answered. “I don’t like him either. But what are you going to do?”

I was out of ideas. “She deserves so much better. I never worried about who she’d end up with because she’s so fucking smart, so confident. I figured she wouldn’t settle for anything less than a handsome billionaire who adores her. Then she threw this curve ball.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s forever. And you know what they say? The more you tell her no, the more she’ll want to do it.”

“My sister isn’t that immature.”

He shrugged. “But she is a young woman…” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and checked his watch. “Sofia and Demetri have a doctor’s appointment. I’m going to leave early so I can take them.”

“Alright. Thanks for the pep talk.”

“If you can’t change the situation, change how you feel about it.”

I laughed again, this time harder. “Yeah…that’s not gonna happen.”

My secretary spoke through the phone. “Damien, you have a drop-in who wants to see you. His name is Vox. Claims it’s important.”

The second I heard that name, I got chills.

The last time we spoke, we almost killed Heath together.

I’d promised I wouldn’t move against Heath, so I couldn’t collude with Vox again. But I didn’t want to decline the meeting either. “Send him in.”

A moment later, his large frame passed through my open doorway. Over six feet with bulky muscle, he had a crazed look in his eye, like he was always ready for a confrontation, wanted conflict to happen. There was a scar along his left eye, like someone sliced him with a thick knife and barely missed the eyeball. He came to my desk and gave me a slight grunt in greeting.

“Sit.” I nodded to the chair.

He moved into the chair, slouching with knees wide apart, sitting like a street gangster instead of a respectable criminal. That was one difference between Heath and him. Heath at least had the majesty of a king.

“How can I help you, Vox?” I was surprised he was still alive after our plan failed. He didn’t look like he’d just recovered from several broken bones either. He’d somehow survived Heath’s wrath.

“Why isn’t Heath collecting payment from you?” He cocked his head slightly, his eyes narrowed in fury.

I wouldn’t tell any of his men that he was screwing my sister. I was certain Heath would protect her identity from his men, behave like she didn’t exist at all, because that was the best way to keep her safe. “Why are you asking?”

“Because I’ve noticed he stopped collecting. Told the rest of the men. We aren’t happy about it.”

“So, you come here to threaten me?” I asked incredulously. “That’s not going to go over well.”

He smiled, dimples in both cheeks, and it was an inappropriate reaction. “No. I just want to know why.” He reached into his jeans and pulled out his phone. “Because I’m putting Heath in the ground once and for all.” He stared at the screen as he flipped through whatever he was looking at. “I’ve been following him, because I thought his ban on trafficking was suspicious. I followed him to a bar and found him with this woman.” He slid the phone toward me.

Shit. I knew who I was about to see. I grabbed the phone anyway, looked at the picture of Heath and Catalina close together, gave no reaction, and slid the phone back.

“I went back to Petrov and asked him what he knew about the whole thing. He said that Heath went down there to collect payment, noticed a woman in one of the cages, lost his temper, and demanded for her to be released. That was when everything began, when they got shot down, followed by everyone else. And you know what?” He grabbed the phone and held it up. “Petrov confirmed this is the woman from the cage.”

Now my heart dropped into my stomach like a stone. I couldn’t even breathe when I heard what he said. My lungs were stuck in