Kidnapped by the Billionaire(63)

Pity it wasn't the one he wanted.

"You didn't seem to find that a problem last week." Woolf's voice was a growl.

Fuck, they wouldn't understand and he wasn't going to explain it to  them. He could barely explain it to himself. Giving up the work of  nearly a decade for one lovely woman's tears.

Giving up the one chance he had-because he knew there'd never be  another-to avenge Marie's death. And all because he couldn't stand to  hurt Violet.

He was a fucking liability, that's what he was. Soft and weak and  vulnerable. His ex-boss would have laughed himself sick if he'd known  what his hard-as-nails henchman had fallen to.

Anguish stirred inside him, and a despair he'd been trying to keep at  bay the whole time he'd made his way from the broken-down apartment  building in Alphabet City to Woolf's office. But like blood in the  water, it crept out, staining everything.

He wouldn't see her again. And not because that was actually what he  wanted, but because she'd made her choice and he had to respect that.

Us monsters have to stick together.

Why she thought she was a monster he had no idea, because a woman less  likely to be one he'd yet to meet. Nevertheless, that didn't change the  fact that she hadn't chosen him. Not unsurprising, given all he'd done  to her and yet it still hurt, a subtle pain that worked its way inside  him, like a splinter heading straight for his heart.

But, shit, he had to ignore that. He had things to do. An empire to take  over and bring down. Yes, it would be that much harder with Jericho  still alive, but he'd do it anyway. At least he'd try.

After all, it wasn't as if he had better things to do.

"Yeah, well, I changed my mind." He stared at Woolf, his fingers  suddenly itching to do violence. "I already took her choices from her  once before, I'm not doing it again."

"So you thought leaving her with her fucking monster brother was a better idea?"

"He wouldn't hurt her."         

     



 

"And how the fuck would you know that?"

The rest of them were staring at him, accusation in their eyes. And he  couldn't blame them. He'd walked out and left Violet with one of  Europe's most secretive and notorious crime bosses. Who also happened to  be the brother who'd supposedly died sixteen years earlier.

And the brother who'd been trying to rescue her all this time. Because  it was all so clear now, why Jericho had wanted her so badly. He'd been  trying to get her free of her father the only way he could. So no, he  wouldn't hurt her.

"He won't," Elijah said. "Jericho spent a long time trying to get her  free. He wouldn't do all of that just to get rid of her now." He paused,  looking at all of them in turn. "He's her brother, you do understand  that don't you?"

Woolf cursed under his breath and flicked a glance at Honor, who'd been  waiting in his office with the rest of them when Elijah had finally  gotten back.

"Yeah, I didn't see that coming," St. James muttered.

"None of us did." Rutherford was leaning against Woolf's desk with his  arms folded. "You didn't ever find anything about him, did you, angel?"

Eva sat next to him on the edge of the desk, her legs swinging. "Nope.  Nothing at all. It's like he doesn't exist. Jericho I mean, not Theo."

Katya was by the door, frowning at Elijah. "You said his father never knew he was dealing with his own son?"

"He didn't." Of that Elijah was positive. Fitzgerald had had no inkling  and in fact had spent a good many resources trying to find out who  Jericho was, since the man had hated mysteries. Which in many ways made  it odd that he'd accepted Theo's disappearance without any argument,  especially when a body hadn't turned up. "He tried to find out but came  up against the same dead ends. Jericho didn't want to be found and so he  wasn't."

"Except we found him," Woolf murmured. "We know who he is."

Katya shifted. "We need to be careful. If he's kept his identity secret  for that long, he's not going to be pleased that we know."

"Good point." Rutherford glanced at the small woman on the desk beside  him. "I think perhaps a leave of absence might be a prudent thing."

"What? You mean run away?" Eva scowled, obviously annoyed with the idea.

"Jericho is a bigger fish than Fitzgerald ever was, angel," Rutherford  said quietly. "He's got more resources and his empire, from what we can  see, is  …  massive. I don't want you in harm's way if he decides to make  sure his identity stays secret."

"But Theo wouldn't … " Honor stopped. Her face was pale, worry clear in her eyes. "I mean I know him. At least I used to."

"Forget what you know," Elijah said curtly. "Whoever he once was, he  isn't now. Not after years spent building that kind of empire." And he  knew, better than anyone, how true that was.

Woolf had put his arm around Honor's waist. "Zac's not wrong, baby. I'm thinking you might be better off out of New York too."

She shook her head. "I can't. I've taken a lot of time off work as it is  and I don't have the staff to take the load like you all do."

"I'm not talking outer space here," Woolf said. "The lodge in Colorado  has internet, you know that. You can work from there. Shit, that's what I  do."

"Alexei," Katya's voice was quiet. "Perhaps you should-"

"Do you think you could wait till we're in private before you undermine  my masculinity, Katya mine?" St. James didn't sound at all offended,  only amused, his mouth curving in a private kind of smile. "Anyway, I  don't need to go anywhere. Not when I have my own personal ninja to  protect me."

There were lots of undercurrents in the room that Elijah found difficult  to follow. The emotions that ran between all these people were deep  with warmth and there was a tenderness in the way they looked at one  another that, strangely, made him feel angry. Made him feel as if he was  missing something.

Fuck, he had to get out of here, away from all this cloying emotional bullshit.

"Protect yourselves how you can," he said coldly. "Are we done here?"

"Seriously?" St. James's blue eyes had narrowed. "You just land this  information on us and then fuck off? What about Violet? What about  Jericho?"

"What about them? Violet is safe and Jericho is probably halfway back to Europe by now."         

     



 

"So you're just letting him go?" Woolf was looking at him now. "After  all that shit about revenge and taking him down, you're letting him get  away?"

"Yes." He didn't bother to explain himself. The other man wouldn't understand. "I have work I need to do here."

"What work?" This from Honor.

"Fitzgerald left one hell of a power vacuum and someone's got to fill  it." He looked at them each in turn. "That someone's is going to be me."

There was a silence.

Eva gaze was full of silver sparks. "If you're going to take over that  pile of shit, then perhaps we'll just shoot you right now and save  ourselves a whole lot of bother."

"I don't want his fucking empire." Elijah held her gaze. "I want to take  it down. Hell, I started the process of dismantling it years ago. It  just needs a couple more years before it goes down completely."

"Why not let the police do it?" Katya asked.

"Because half the fucking police were in Fitzgerald's pocket. They want  to keep it going for their own ends, make no mistake. No, it's got to be  done from the inside, which means it's got to be me."

Another silence.

But they all agreed, he could see it in their eyes.

"What about Jericho then?" Eva said. "We're just going to let him go? Run away like a bunch of scared kids?"

"I didn't say we were going to let him go, angel." Rutherford unfolded  his arms, reaching down to put a hand on her knee. "What I meant was  that we should lay low while we work on a plan to take him down."

Something twisted in Elijah's chest, the memory of Violet's tearstained face.

He's my brother.

"Fuck, yes," Woolf said roughly. "We can't let him get away with this shit."

Once, Elijah would have agreed. But not now. He wanted no part of it,  not when any move against Jericho was a move against Violet.

He turned to the door without a word. He had to get out of here, he had stuff to do.

"Elijah." Woolf's voice.

He stopped, didn't turn around.

"Are you with us?"

It was a gesture, he understood. An olive branch of sorts. An invitation  to be part of the plan, to join with them at least for a little while.

But while he appreciated the sentiment, he wasn't going to. He'd been on  his own path for almost a decade and it was better that he walked it  alone. That's how he worked best after all.

"No," he said flatly. "I left Jericho alive for Violet. If you want to  take him down, that's your business." He moved to the door and pulled it  open.