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“That’s no way to talk to the man who holds all of your friends’ lives in his hand,” he murmurs, sounding disappointed and my stomach rolls at his ability to sound completely sincere no matter what emotion he’s portraying. “You do remember what will happen if you reveal any of this information to your brothers, right?”

I nod. “I remember.”

“Excellent. I’m glad we’re on the same page… although, I would love any excuse to finally get my hands on our little Rowan. I’ve been dreaming about her every night, you know, and the anticipation is just killing me.”

I want to fucking rage at him, scream and tell him to stay the hell away from her but that hasn’t worked in the past and as I think about him actually laying his hands on her, I struggle to take a breath. I need to find something else, a way to discourage him from going after her but what can I do? As I rake my hand through my hair, I wonder if he is only focused on her because of me and if I reacted with disinterest, he would lose interest. Sucking in a breath, I try to calm my frazzled nerves as I shrug.

“Go ahead. She is just another in a long line of women I’ve fucked and honestly, I’ll get bored with her soon enough.”

He roars with laughter and my chest feels like it’s going to explode. “Did you really think that would work? My infatuation with Rowan has absolutely nothing to do with you, Travis. I want her. I have from the moment I watched you press her perky tits up against your window, putting her on display for me. Torturing you with it all is just an added bonus.”

There is a pounding in my ears and spots flash in my vision as I think about him watching us that first night we were together. He would have had to been outside the clubhouse to see what we did and knowing he was right there makes my blood boil. How many other signs have we missed?

“Nothing to say to that, old friend?” he asks and I shake my head. “Fine, then. I’d better get going anyway. There is so much work left to do before we end this but I’ll talk to you soon.”

He hangs up before I can say anything - not that I had anything else to say to him - and I toss my phone on the desk before dropping my head into my hands and releasing a breath.

Dread.

Rage.

Pain.

And fear.

It all swirls around inside me, each emotion pulling the life from my veins and feeding another as I desperately try to stay afloat and I don’t know how much longer I can hold all of this together. Sooner or later - and I’m leaning toward sooner more with each day that passes - I’m going to break and the thought terrifies me more than anything else.