Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(23)

Addy lowered her gaze and held her silence. Did he think she was stupid? Or just so gullible that she would feast on his every word, believing his act, believing he wasn’t secretly leading the very group he was professing a desire to destroy?

“Do you remember a girl named Ace?” Owen asked.

Ace? Yes, she did. How could she forget her? Addy had heard they’d forced her to do terrible things too. She always wondered what had become of her.

“She works for me now.”

“I don’t remember her.”

“Don’t you? She shot a video of her preparing you for your initiation.”

Addy shut her eyes and swallowed hard. God. She’d said she turned it off. Had Owen seen that tape? She remembered begging Ace to help her get out. All she could think of at the time was finding her way back to Owen.

“Your brother was in the tunnels looking for you at that same time. He kept all of this from me until just recently. Ace was giving him the videos of the women she helped prepare, of other people and places she saw. He was collecting it all as evidence. He never got your video. Ace didn’t give it to him.”

“I asked her not to record me.”

“I saw that. For some reason, she didn’t turn it off. Jax said he never got the video.” Owen paused. “Addy—what happened that day?”

“You know what happened.”

“I know some of the ceremony. I’m not asking you to rehash that. Troy said you were married to Edwards.”

“Do you know him?”

“Yes.” Owen pointed to the bruises on his face. “He’s who did this to me and Jax.” He went silent for a bit. “How did you survive him?”

“I don’t know what that means, Owen. I don’t think I did survive him. I just lived longer than the hell he put me through. Shall we talk about it now? Do you want to hear all the terrible ways he tortured me? Do you enjoy that sort of thing? Is this some sort of an exit interview? Do you interrogate all the women who get out like I did?”

“Addy, I don’t understand. You behave as if I’m in charge of the Omnis.”

“Don’t act like you aren’t. I know the truth.”

“The truth according to whom?”

“The truth as corroborated by friends as well as enemies.”

As soon as those words were out of her mouth, she wished she could yank them back. She’d just revealed that she had secret allies. God, he was good at this fishing game. She was way out of her league. She should leave. Now, before even more of her secrets spilled out.

She stood. So did Owen. She reached for the door, but he grabbed her wrist. “Addy, are you safe here?”

“Safe? In what way?” Locked in this house through the invisible threads of fear? How could she go anywhere without both of her sons with her?

“You’re scared to death.”

“Of course I am. They took one of my sons. My other son is still at risk.”

He nodded. “This is a very large and very porous property. I’m not sure it’s adequately secured.”

If he didn’t know, she wasn’t going to tell him. They weren’t on the same sides in this conflict. “If you have questions about our security here, you should ask Wendell.”

“I have. I want to bring my own team in.”

Fear sliced through her then, waves of it, cold chasing hot. “No. You can’t. This is my sanctuary. I will not tolerate them coming here.”

“They won’t do anything to interfere with you or your retreat. They’re the only ones I trust at the moment. My job is to get our son back and end the Omnis once and for all.”

She folded her arms over her waist, hiding them under the blanket. If they came here, she and Troy would have to leave. Owen was King. He could do anything he wanted, wherever he wanted to do it, whatever it was, with whomever he wanted. Her puny protestations mattered not at all. Still, she had to try one more time.

“This is my house. It was agreed upon in my settlement. You have no say here.”

“Then I can have them stay off property. But they don’t come alone. They bring their wives or girlfriends. And their children. I’d rather have them here, close and safe, than outside the wire.”

Wives and children? Who were these people? Not the groupies Cecil brought to watch her ritual humiliation. What game was Owen playing? If she had them stay in town, their presence might gain unwanted attention. But was that a valid concern when she had the head of the Omnis standing right in front of her?

“It would only be temporary, Addy.”

So were the visits her husband arranged. Temporary as in one night. One night was all it took to break her for weeks.

She lifted her chin. “Do what you’re going to do, but know that I’ll do what I’m going to do. Just remember that this is not your home. You have no authority here. In truth, neither does my brother.”

Owen nodded. “Several of the women with my team have been harmed by the OWO, directly and indirectly. They’ve gotten themselves out of that world, and they’ve survived on the other side. I hope you might get a chance to talk to them. Hearing their stories, sharing yours, all of it might help you—and them—heal.”

If his team and their families really weren’t part of the Omni world, as Jax now believed, then why was he doing this? To further his cover? “What are you up to, Owen? Why are you doing this?”