Page 50 of Ravaged By the Dark

“I could just kill her now and be done with it,” Trev snorted and watched Renee’s body language. Renee’s eyes were wide, and she took a tentative step backward toward the door.

“You could try to run, sweetheart, but this place will go on auto lockdown, and you wouldn’t make it out the front door alive no matter what my brother promises you.” Trev was purposely pushing Arek. He wanted to see how far Arek would take this and when Arek glared at him as he laid a hand on Renee’s shoulder to whisper to her, he had his answer.

Fuck!

He’d never seen his brother like this, and as many times as he complained about the revolving door of women, he would have preferred that over this.

Careful what you wish for…

“What makes you think we can even trust this Ice Man? He could be telling Tyson all about you and her here with us right now.” Trev pointed to Renee.

“Any other time, you know I’d agree with you, but you also know that I have good instincts about people. I haven’t survived this long by being an idiot.” Arek’s voice hardened, his eyes narrowing. “I looked into his eyes, and while he may work for Tyson, he loves his sister. He wants her safe, and helping us is the best way to achieve that. Wouldn’t you do the same for me?” Arek had him there. He knew that Trev would lay down his life for him.

Trev sighed.

“Have you forgotten the mission? It’s not just Tyson. We’re trying to take down an entire opioid enterprise. Tyson and the Crimson Vipers are nothing more than a cog in a much larger wheel, yet that’s all you seem to be focused on lately.”

“Trev, I need you to trust me. My mission and goal haven’t changed, and removing Tyson from the ‘wheel’ is the best shot we have of gaining access to the Dragons. They will need a new buyer, and if we push the right buttons, we will find the information we need.”

“You do realize that this entire plan of yours hinges on a man we barely know and that the Dragons give a shit enough about Tyson to come out of hiding.”

Trevor walked around his desk.

“Look, we can argue about the functionality of this plan of yours. It is annoyingly obvious you’re going to do whatever you want. Since you already told her who we are, what other choice do I have?”

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.