I stopped shaking as my gaze darted to him. “He’s dead?”
Deck nodded. “Kai killed him the second he was released from jail.”
“But that was … seven years ago.”
Deck didn’t say anything. Fury erupted in my stomach like a volcano as I thought of all the times Kai told me he had a lead on Robbie, where he might be. Why? Why the hell would he do that? Why keep me thinking Robbie’s alive hurting other women?
“Bastard.” I darted to my feet and was out the bedroom door before Deck could stop me. I made it to the elevator and pressed the button before I realized I only had my panties and a t-shirt on. Deck stood at the front door with his hand outstretched.
When I didn’t move, he sighed and lowered it. “Babe, he did what I would’ve done. Should’ve done. Robbie never deserved to walk free and if Kai had let him, he would’ve hurt other women.”
“He used me all these years. Made me believe he was trying to find him,” I yelled.
Deck nodded. “Yeah. It’s who Kai is, baby. But I don’t think you finding Robbie is what you’ve been chasing after all these years.”
I sighed and looked at my feet. I really didn’t know what to think right now. Robbie was dead, and that was what I wanted. But there was no satisfaction knowing that. I’d thought I’d feel this immense relief … but there was nothing.
“You want to find yourself, Georgie? Get that part of you back that you lost? Then stop running from it. All Kai did was teach you how to survive. But, baby, now I get to teach you how to live.”
A tear slipped from my eye and slid down my cheek. “How do you always do that?”
“Do what?”
“Make me love you more.”
He grinned and then the elevator dinged.
“Babe, get your ass in here. I don’t want to have to beat some guy because he saw you half-naked.”
I smiled.
He scowled.
I quickly walked to him and he pulled me inside and shut the door. Then he picked me up and carried me out onto the terrace where he told me the rest of what Kai had revealed, while I curled up in his arms.
“WHAT WILL THEY do to London?”
We were in Deck’s black Audi on the way to the Unyielding Riot office where Vic, Tyler and Josh were digging up anything they could on every secret organization known throughout the world. Of course, the job wasn’t so easy. I’d tried calling Kai to try and get more information out of him, but he wasn’t picking up.
“Torture her until she breaks, most likely.”
I asked for it. Deck didn’t give bullshit or make things look prettier than they were. I was a little, okay, that was bullshit, I was a lot freaked out that I was under the thumb of some powerful secret organization I knew nothing about and neither did Deck. “Do you think Kai will try and get her out?” Shit, he was the one responsible for her being targeted. London had been through enough already.
Deck parked and shut off the car. “No. And he’d be stupid to try.” I closed my eyes, feeling my heart cracking as I thought of the broken girl who refused to meet anyone’s eyes and trembled at the sound of a man’s voice. “Then that means Connor … ” I couldn’t finish. Was he lost to us forever, too?
Deck reached across the space between us and took my hand and squeezed. “Probably. But I’ll never give up on him.”
I nodded. Yeah, that was Deck.
“But keeping you safe comes first, Georgie. Not only because I love you, but because Connor asked it of me.” I opened my mouth and then shut it again because we’d already been over this. I argued that Connor was more important and Deck refused to listen. There was no discussion. No leniency. No give. Deck wouldn’t go after Connor if it meant my safety.
He let me go and opened the car door.
I got out and we strode into his office where his men were sitting in the glassed-in boardroom. It looked odd, three hot men wearing jeans or cargo pants and t-shirts sitting around a dark mahogany table in an office building.
When we walked in, all eyes went to me and I knew they were looking to see if I was still freaking over the news about Connor.
I wasn’t. I had my shit together and I knew that had to do with Deck. He grounded me. “Sweet, three cupcakes and a fancy coffee maker.” I went over to the machine and started making a cappuccino. I could feel their eyes on me and turned. “I’m good. Stop staring at me. Jesus.”
That got a snort out of Vic, a laugh out of Tyler and Josh merely looked away. Deck, on the other hand, shut the door harder than necessary, then walked over to me, picked up the cappuccino I’d just made then sat me down beside Tyler, He placed the mug in front of me then went and sat at the other end of the table.
Tyler snagged my mug and took a sip.
“Hey.”
“You think I’m hot, eh?”
I rolled my eyes. “You are until you open your mouth.” I grabbed for my mug, but he lifted it in the air out of reach.
“Nice get-up.” He eyed my track pants and sweatshirt. “Easy access, I guess.”
“Tyler,” Deck warned in a quiet tone. It was instant. Tyler’s laughter died and he was serious again as he passed me my cappuccino. “What have we found out?”
Josh slid a sheet across the table to Deck. “List of organizations which we know of. Seven we’ve had dealings with which I scratched off. Two are affiliated with hate crimes, also scratched off. The last one is a possibility, but unlikely. According to what I found out, it was established ten years ago and wouldn’t have been around to pull off something so elaborate as kidnapping a JTF2 officer while on a mission in the Middle East.”