Sweetest Taboo (SIN 3)

He wanted them now, and the rules be damned.

He moved through the tech center, barely noticing Liam working at the computer while he spoke into a headset. No, his focus was entirely on the interrogation room as he moved in that direction with unfailing determination.

The door was shut and double-sealed, a clear indication that this was the room in which Colin was detained. Just to double check, Dallas glanced up at the video monitors, saw the man he'd once called friend sitting gagged in the single chair, his ankles lashed to the metal legs and his hands tied firmly behind his back.

"Dallas?" Liam's voice hardly registered. "Hold up, man."

But Dallas didn't even slow. Hell, he barely even broke his stride as he punched in the password, waited impatiently for the doors to open, then burst into the claustrophobic room and locked the door from the inside with his personal code.

A heartbeat later, his fist slammed hard into Colin's jaw, and the older man crashed backward onto the floor, chair and all.

Dallas straddled him, one hand twisting his collar as his other hand ripped off the gag, leaving Colin gasping, his eyes wide and unfocused.

"Dallas?" His voice seemed thin. Weak. "Thank god. Get me out of here. These men. They're--"

"Shut the fuck up." Dallas yanked him up, righting the chair, then stood in front of the man who now cowered, as if sinking inside himself. "Who is she? The Woman? Who the fuck is she? And where the hell has she taken Jane?"

Colin's head shook as an almost incoherent string of denials escaped his lips. "I don't know what you're talking about. Please, Dallas, what's going on? Why are you here? Why am I here? I don't understand. Did something happen to Jane? Dallas, what's going on with my little girl?"

The words were spilling out of him, fast and furious. Pain and fear and regret seemed etched into every line of Colin's face, and for a moment--just a moment--Dallas hesitated. He wanted to believe that Colin was innocent. That his friend would never have hurt him. Would never have thrust Dallas and Jane into a concrete cell. Would never have starved and tortured them.

He wanted to believe, and that want felt like a fist around his heart.

But want couldn't overcome the truth, and Dallas had seen too much. Knew too much. His team had done their job, and the evidence was clear.

Dallas clenched his fists at his sides in an effort to calm the rage that writhed inside him like a caged beast. "Who. Is. She?" The words came out hard between clenched teeth.

"She?" Colin blinked, his forehead creased in concentration. "Jane?"

Dallas lashed out, his heart hurting as his palm connected hard and fast with Colin's cheek, sending the older man's head twisting to one side as he cried out in pain and surprise.

"The Woman, you fucking lowlife. The bitch who worked with you in London. The one who tortured us, who--"

The words caught in his throat, choking him, and he realized with a start that hot tears had pooled in his eyes. With a violent move, he kicked Colin's chair, then turned away, trying to gather himself. He couldn't lose it. Not now. Not when he needed answers so badly. When she was missing. When he had to find her. Had to save her.

He drew in a breath and turned back to the man. His captive now, not his friend.

He bent over, then placed his hands tight on Colin's shoulders, trapping the man and also controlling his own urge to lash out with his fists yet again. "Did you know we were closing in? Did you set the bitch on her? Did that vile excuse for a female take Jane so that you'd have leverage? Did the two of you plan it all out? Who the fuck is she, Colin? And where is she keeping Jane?"

"Dallas, Dallas, please. I don't understand. What's happened to Jane? I don't--I don't know what you're talking about. Oh, god. Oh, god, what's wrong with you? What are you doing?" He was crying now, his voice cracking as he pled. "I'd never hurt Jane. I'd never hurt you. You know that--how can you not know that?"

"You fucking liar. You goddamn psychopath. Did you really think you could just slide into our lives? Did you truly believe we'd never find out?"

"No, I--"

"Tell me," he demanded, and now his right hand moved to Colin's throat. "You tell me the truth right now--tell me where she is, tell me who the Woman is--or I swear this breath will be your last."

He squeezed and watched as Colin's eyes bulged. As his face turned red, then gray. As his mouth opened, not to speak, but to gasp for air that wasn't going to come. Dallas wanted to do it. Wanted to rip the last remnants of life from him, to destroy the man who had destroyed him and Jane. To punish the man who'd let that bitch torture him so many years ago, and who was surely now tormenting Jane.

He clenched harder, some part deep inside of him knowing that he had to let the man go, had to let him speak. But a larger part--a more powerful part--had taken over. He needed to take Colin out. He needed to end it. He needed to punish. To destroy.

He needed Jane.

And goddammit, he didn't know how to get her back.

"Dallas!" Strong hands grabbed his upper arms and ripped him backward, forcing his fingers off Colin's throat. "Rein it in, man. You can't kill him. We need him. We need him to find out who attacked Jane."

"He did." Dallas had to force the words out between gasps, he was breathing so hard. "Whether or not he was on the street, he's the one pulling the strings, just like always."