Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark #3)(94)

Time.

The traitorous bitch was once again working against me. In more ways than one.

My heart hammered. "Nothing until someone"-and if I ever found out whom, I'd shoot them-"told a tale of how a woman I'd saved from traffickers in Mexico fell in love with me. They spun a ridiculous love story of a man berserk with terror when those same bastards came back for her to teach him a lesson."

The tears in Tess's eyes broke the confines of her lashes, trickling down her cheeks. My heart physically hurt at the love beaming from her-it was tangible, heating, hugging me.

"Online tabloids and international magazines spread the story like wildfire-embellishing, editing, but ultimately getting it surprisingly right. And when the news got out I'd found you but you were almost irreparable-well, that's when the phones started ringing for an entirely different reason."

Tess didn't say a word, blinking in shock. My headache grew as stress layered my system. I didn't want to talk about this. I'd deliberately kept it from her-I refused to let myself think about it as it made me feel … I didn't fucking know. Humbled. Honoured. Amazed. I felt loved by more people than I'd ever met, and after a lifetime of never being cared for, I had no idea how to deal with it.

"So what happened?" Tess prompted.

I laughed softly, unable to believe what the future of my company-my father's company-faced. "Being heralded as a saviour didn't exactly ruin my image. It didn't matter people were calling me sick and so entrenched in the underworld they couldn't believe a word of truth.

"There were more people who believed in the good than the bad, and it's been used to my advantage." Taking her hand, I pulled her toward me. My muscles shuddered as her warm weight rested along mine. Her hair tussled over her shoulders; smudges of sleeplessness marked under her eyes. "You're going to be the face of the new Moineau, Tess. Be prepared."

Her lips parted. "Wait … how?"

Frederick jumped in. "The forty-eight percent of investors we'd lost were rapidly replaced with smaller donations, lesser scale projects, and a lot of interest to join Q's crusade against trafficking."

Tess turned in my arms, annoyance shining on her face. "Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"That's not all," Frederick continued. "His good deeds will be recognised by the prime minister himself. Q's business no longer deals with the filth of the world in order to save the innocent. Rather, he is now supported by organisations who will fight against that filth by pooling resources and authorities Q didn't have on his own."



       
         
       
        

My heart thudded, sending heated blood through my veins at the thought of all the extra women I'd be able to save but never see. All the sorrow I could fix; all the families I could reunite.

My company had branched out. Property and slaves. Who knew there would ever be a correlation.

Frederick beamed, his blue eyes practically blazing like daytime stars with happiness. "Moineau Holdings is no longer just a property empire. In fact, half of the company's equity has been channelled into a new venture under the Moineau umbrella."

Tess froze beside me, holding her breath.

"The latest enterprise is called Feathers of Hope, and we've donated exactly half of all Moineau's proceeds to fund the worthy cause."

Tess looked between the two of us, the file on her lap completely forgotten. "What does it do?"

Roux answered, "Feathers of Hope provides homes, rehabilitation, and therapy for all the women involved in the sex slave industry. It also backs private law enforcement along with larger firms in order to shut down slavery rings and prosecute men responsible."

Tess started to quake. I cinched her harder against me, hating the onset of shock. Fuck, it hadn't been my intention to make her panic. This was why I wanted to keep it simple and not drag her into everything. She'd probably have a heart attack to know how many people wanted to meet her. Interviews were turned down every day for her exclusive story of survival.

I smiled. It was her face people wanted on the Feathers of Hope logo-not the two feathers linked together with a red bow that we had now. She'd be immersed in my company-whether she wanted to be or not. It was just a matter of time.

Time I might not have.

Goddammit, I promised myself I wouldn't think about it. Roux had no right to remind me-especially in front of Tess.

Tess looked up, her face whiter than a ghost. "You're a hero. My hero. Their hero. My God, Q-"

I snarled, hating the word. "No, esclave, I'm not. I'm making up for the sins of my past. The sins of my father and all the fucking bastards I've had to deal with in order to free a small fraction of women. I've so many things to pay for, including my own sick perversions."