Sweetest Taboo Read Free

etched into every line of Colin’s face, and for a moment—just a moment—Dallas hesitated. He wanted to believe that Colin was innocent. That his friend would never have hurt him. Would never have thrust Dallas and Jane into a concrete cell. Would never have starved and tortured them.
    He wanted to believe, and that want felt like a fist around his heart.
    But want couldn’t overcome the truth, and Dallas had seen too much. Knew too much. His team had done their job, and the evidence was clear.
    Dallas clenched his fists at his sides in an effort to calm the rage that writhed inside him like a caged beast. “Who. Is. She?” The words came out hard between clenched teeth.
    “She?” Colin blinked, his forehead creased in concentration. “Jane?”
    Dallas lashed out, his heart hurting as his palm connected hard and fast with Colin’s cheek, sending the older man’s head twisting to one side as he cried out in pain and surprise.
    “The Woman, you fucking lowlife. The bitch who worked with you in London. The one who tortured us, who—”
    The words caught in his throat, choking him, and he realized with a start that hot tears had pooled in his eyes. With a violent move, he kicked Colin’s chair, then turned away, trying to gather himself. He couldn’t lose it. Not now. Not when he needed answers so badly. When she was missing. When he had to find her. Had to save her.
    He drew in a breath and turned back to the man. His captive now, not his friend.
    He bent over, then placed his hands tight on Colin’s shoulders, trapping the man and also controlling his own urge to lash out with his fists yet again. “Did you know we were closing in? Did you set the bitch on her? Did that vile excuse for a female take Jane so that you’d have leverage? Did the two of you plan it all out? Who the fuck is she, Colin? And where is she keeping Jane?”
    “Dallas, Dallas, please. I don’t understand. What’s happened to Jane? I don’t—I don’t know what you’re talking about. Oh, god. Oh, god, what’s wrong with you? What are you doing?” He was crying now, his voice cracking as he pled. “I’d never hurt Jane. I’d never hurt you. You know that—how can you not know that?”
    “You fucking liar. You goddamn psychopath. Did you really think you could just slide into our lives? Did you truly believe we’d never find out?”
    “No, I—”
    “Tell me,” he demanded, and now his right hand moved to Colin’s throat. “You tell me the truth right now—tell me where she is, tell me who the Woman is—or I swear this breath will be your last.”
    He squeezed and watched as Colin’s eyes bulged. As his face turned red, then gray. As his mouth opened, not to speak, but to gasp for air that wasn’t going to come. Dallas wanted to do it. Wanted to rip the last remnants of life from him, to destroy the man who had destroyed him and Jane. To punish the man who’d let that bitch torture him so many years ago, and who was surely now tormenting Jane.
    He clenched harder, some part deep inside of him knowing that he had to let the man go, had to let him speak. But a larger part—a more powerful part—had taken over. He needed to take Colin out. He needed to end it. He needed to punish. To destroy.
    He needed Jane.
    And goddammit, he didn’t know how to get her back.
    “Dallas!” Strong hands grabbed his upper arms and ripped him backward, forcing his fingers off Colin’s throat. “Rein it in, man. You can’t kill him. We need him. We need him to find out who attacked Jane.”
    “He did.” Dallas had to force the words out between gasps, he was breathing so hard. “Whether or not he was on the street, he’s the one pulling the strings, just like always.”
    “Maybe.” The rage was starting to fade from Dallas’s ears. He recognized Liam’s voice, and realized his friend used the override code to enter. “But do you think she’ll forgive you if you kill him, especially if you kill him without letting her talk