Rock Reclaimed (Rock Revenge Trilogy 2)

“I didn’t have a fucking plan! Except to somehow come here and make the impossible work. He was never going to pay for your return, and I was the idiot who couldn’t see how flawed this thing was from the start. He would never throw good money after bad. Wiser than me, he is. But I can learn.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her voice turned sharp, the way it used to right before fire seared into my flesh.

The searing pain that bloomed into an ache that I now craved.

I wouldn’t allow myself to forget.

Not again.

“It means I’m done. I’ll pay Jerry back every cent I owe him, and I’ll do it as fast as I can. But I’m not going to be his toy any longer. Or yours.” I dropped back my head and shut my eyes. “I’m not going to lie to my brother. Not any more than I already have.”

“You can’t do this!”

“I already am. If Jerry wants to talk to me, he knows how to find me.”

I knew what I was saying. I understood full well I was putting a target on my back. If I wouldn’t play their game, I was expendable.

I always had been. Now it was just out in the open.

“Not just you. Do you know what you’re doing? You have others you care about. Others who can be harmed—”

“No!” The word ripped from my chest as if it was a physical thing. My heart being torn through flesh and bone. “You fucking stay away from her. I’ll fucking kill you. Kill him too. If you even think about—”

The line went dead in my hand.

I threw my phone, going into a crouch as it shattered against the wall.

I drove my hands through my hair and stared blurrily at the large circular table and plush chairs that had held countless fancy arses over the years. I’d aspired to be here, and now I was. And it didn’t matter one fucking bit if anything happened to Zoe.

Because of me.

They had to know she was the only person who mattered to me. Christ, this was exactly why I’d grown so wary of having our pictures out there. The longer it had gone on with her, the deeper I’d fallen, I’d realized she wasn’t just a passing entertainment but…everything.

My everything.

The world knew because I’d made sure to put a bullseye on her back too, with all my stupid pictures of Matilda and the tags on Instagram and the days we’d spent having fun as if we had any right.

She had all the rights. I had none.

I also was a goddamn moron. I’d honestly thought I was the only one in the crosshairs. They didn’t want Zoe. Why would they? I was the one they wanted to hurt. And until her, the only person I loved was my mother.

Until I’d finally bought a clue there, and saw I was her pawn. It wouldn’t change if I brought her a bundle of money in a red satin bow. I would never be anything but her burden to bear. Now I was also the Judas son who knew too much.

Who needed to be eliminated.

I couldn’t fucking wait another second longer. I didn’t have a choice. If everything imploded around me, at least Zoe would be safe.

This time, I would take my punishment. I wouldn’t run.

I crossed the room and picked up the pieces of my phone, shoving them into my pocket. Likely the thing was ruined. I didn’t care. I’d let the world burn down around me—I’d light the match—if only Zoe was protected.

Like a zombie, I went into the hall and used my pass to take the lift to the uppermost floor. I got out of the golden box and stared at Donovan Lewis’s admin, saying only, “Buzz me in.”

“Mr. Lewis is unable to—”

“Tell him it’s an emergency.” I leaned on the circular desk, gripping the edge of it with fingers that went white at the bone. “Please.”

She must’ve seen the truth in my face. She picked up the phone and spoke quietly, and a moment later, she waved me in.