Unbroken (The Protectors 12)

It was early Sunday morning and we’d been back in Seattle for just over thirty-six hours. Things had gone down exactly as Ronan had said they would after we’d left the party. I’d seen proof of that for myself on the morning news when we’d landed in Seattle.

Not only had the cops raided a building based on an “anonymous” tip and found nearly twenty men tied up with flash drives containing evidence of their crimes stuffed in their mouths, a whole passel of kids had been brought in by a couple of men who’d claimed to have found the children just outside the Emergency Room doors. Those same men had magically disappeared during the commotion of the kids being treated and the cops still hadn’t been able to find them or whoever had left the gift of twenty perverts bound and gagged for the police to find.

Since learning Gio was alive, we’d all been eager to get to Seattle, and while Luca could have made arrangements for us to fly there on one of his private jets, we’d been too shell-shocked by the news of Gio to do anything but agree to fly to the Emerald City on one of Ronan’s planes. Several of the men Ronan had introduced us to that night at the party had been on the plane with us, but two had been notably absent and that had made me very happy.

Vincent, the so-called interrogator.

And Dante.

And no, I hadn’t been happy Dante hadn’t been on the flight to annoy the ever-loving fuck out of me. I’d been happy he hadn’t been on there because it meant he’d been dealing with Brian. And if Dante had had Vincent with him, it meant Brian had probably felt some pain before he’d died.

Well, a lot of pain.

And since Dante hadn’t actually needed any information from him, the only end-game would have been to make Brian feel every one of the things Aleks had felt when Brian had hurt him. Oh, and of course, Dante’s need for blood.

Aleks had been upset to learn his brother wouldn’t be flying home with us, but he hadn’t asked why, since he’d probably known himself why his brother had stayed behind. Magnus and Ronan had returned with us and while Aleks had slept against me, Ronan had used the time to talk to me and Luca more about Gio. King and Con had stayed behind in New York to monitor the fallout from the party and to make sure Luca’s name didn’t come up in the investigation, something Ronan had assured us wouldn’t happen.

As grateful as I was to the guy, I was still struggling to accept the power and resources he seemed to have access to. Maybe once I saw Gio for myself, that would change. I just couldn’t relate the little boy I’d known to the tormented young man Ronan had described.

But if what he was saying about Luca’s son was true, bringing Gio back to us had gotten a lot more complicated. Because it didn’t just sound like Gio had been sticking to certain behaviors like Aleks had when he’d been rescued… it sounded like Gio had been brainwashed into believing he really was married to the man who’d purchased him like he was some prize-winning steer. I’d already seen the damage a manipulator like Brian could do after just a couple of years. If this guy had had Gio the entire time, the damage to his mental health would be extreme.

“Here,” Magnus said as he pulled my coffee cup toward him and filled it up again.

“Thanks,” I murmured.

“Go get a few more hours of sleep,” Magnus suggested. “They probably won’t be up for a while yet… they were talking pretty late last night.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything and I didn’t get up to go back to Aleks’s room.

Magnus chuckled. “Yep, you’ve got it bad already if you can’t sleep without him beside you.” Magnus filled his own cup. “Been there, done that – last night, actually.”

I smiled at that. I’d figured Magnus would be kicked out of his and Dante’s bedroom while Aleks and Dante had “the talk” Aleks had insisted on the second Dante had gotten back home the previous day, but I hadn’t realized the man hadn’t been allowed to sleep in his own bed.

“Do you know if Aleks ate?” I asked. “He’s just now starting to eat when he’s hungry rather than waiting until his alarm reminds him to.”

“I took them both some food before I went to bed… in the guest room,” Magnus said. “They were under the covers just talking. The guest room is next to ours so I could hear them throughout the night… there was lots of laughter… some tears too,” Magnus added solemnly. “But when I just looked in on them, they were both asleep.”