Page 105 of Playboy’s Purgatory

Her hands smooth over my shoulders, and her lips tip up in a smile. “Of course.”

My eyes sting and fill with tears. I can’t remember the last time I cried. It won’t be now, but this is almost too much for me.

I clear my throat and awkwardly put Lara back in her seat on the couch.

“Good,” I try to sound sure, but it’s a little weak.

She leans over and kisses the corner of my mouth before I stand up and head toward the door. “Vanessa,” I call out over my shoulder.

“Yeah?” I hear her from her room down the hall.

“I need to head out for a little while, but I’ll be back. If I miss your bedtime, I wanted to say goodnight.”

Vanessa is through her door and barreling down the hallway at me before I know it. I turn and brace myself just as she slams into me and wraps her arms around my waist.

“Be safe,” she murmurs and I fall deeper in love with this little girl.

My hand slides over her hair gently. “Always, Vivi. I’ll be back.”

I don’t just assure her for her own peace of mind, but mine as well.

She gives one more squeeze before letting go and hurrying back toward her room. “Love you,” she yells out without even realizing it.

“Love you,” I whisper back, unable to speak any louder. Those fucking tears are back as I look over at Lara with shock written all over my face.

Lara just smiles softly and makes a shooing motion with her hand like I didn’t just get my world completely rocked. By the time I make it downstairs and out to my bike, I’m steady. The love of that little girl only makes me more determined.

Lola didn’t just hurt Lara. She has been hurting Vanessa as well.

The ride to the clubhouse clears my head and I feel like a sharpened blade by the time I pull through the gates of the compound. I meet Ryker in the main room and follow him along with Sidewinder, Whiskey, Diesel, and Omen.

Lola is strapped to a chair in the middle of the room we use for this kind of interrogation. It’s secure from the outside and impossible to leave from the inside unless we let you out.

She doesn’t know it yet, clearly, from the fear in her eyes, but she will have the chance to leave this room. If she’s smart, she’ll count herself lucky. Most people don’t live beyond this room.

When she sees us, she struggles against her bindings, but there’s no room to move. My lips curl into a sinister grin when she looks at me. Something flips in her and I see the calculation in her eyes.

“Ah, ah, ah,” I taunt, “whatever you’re thinking isn’t going to work. You won’t be talking your way out of this. There is no excuse for what you’ve done,” I warn her.

My brothers fan out and find a place to lean against the walls. They know this is my show today.

I step forward to rip the tape off her mouth and she lets out a shriek of pain. We don’t hurt women, normally, but that pain needed to happen no matter what.

Can’t get answers if her mouth is covered.

“You can’t do this to me,” she gasps out the words like they’re armor. “You don’t understand. You’ve got the wrong person.” Her gaze flicks around the room, searching for anyone who might stand up for her. She’ll be waiting a long fucking time for that to happen. When her eyes lock on me, her gaze softens with a silent plea. “Didn’t you get my letter?”

“I did,” I nod once, “and I have one question?”

Her face lights up and she starts nodding her head. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” she offers, her voice excited and bright.

“How did you manage to fit that many lies and that much bullshit into one letter?”

She freezes and her breath stalls in her lungs. “What are you talking about?” The question is shaky and breathy.

“Did you really think I was going to read that letter and believe you?” The laugh that comes out of me is mocking and filled with disdain. “What did you think was going to happen? Did you think I would get your letter, and rush over to Lara’s bakery to find her standing above a pile of cash as if it were evidence of anything other than your stupidity?” She blinks and her mouth falls open. “What did you think would happen then?”

I take a step closer to her, my eyes burning into her with the feral need to protect my woman, my family. Mine.