I rolled my eyes. “Of course you told them I wasn’t, right?”
Jessika snorted, snatching up a glass near the front of the stage. “Of course. Just don’t know if they bought it…”
“You…” I murmur, searching his expression. “You were all there? Why?” I had hundreds of questions, and although this wasn’t an ideal place to be asking them, I was desperate to hear the answers.
“You trust me?” he asks, tilting his head.
“No. Do you trust me?” I shoot back, inching up onto my elbows.
“Would you two please not start fucking in the middle of a goddamn war!” Keaton yells out just as the shots die out.
“I don’t,” Killian admits. “But I don’t have to trust you to save you.”
“Save me?” I ask, not sure how those words taste on the tip of my tongue. “I’m messed up in the head, Killian. The girl you knew for the past few months is a little different to the one I am now, now that I have my memories back.”
Killian licks his lip. “What you went through, Saskia, it was fucked up. I know that. Just because you were abused, fucking raped and taken advantage of, doesn’t mean shit up against what you mean to Mayhem. Like it or not, we’re your family, and that’s not just because you’re a Dragavei.”
“Why else?” I ask, wanting to know his answer, but subconsciously knowing that again, right now is probably not an ideal time.
“I’m not doing that with you right now.” He pulls me up to my feet, just as my eyes land on Kosta.
“I don’t want to do this,” I whispered as Kosta and the two men he keeps close to him turn on the lights. “It’s going to hurt.”
Kosta smirked, unzipping his pants and walking into the middle of the room. There were cushions set up, scattered everywhere.
“Lay down, Little Doll. I promise it’s not as bad as you think.”
The two other men who were behind him, stalked toward me, too. One was holding a metal object that had two clamps on either side.
“Why?” I asked, because I always asked questions.
“Because this is when your training can start.” He kneeled down to my level, stroking himself through his pants. “This is where your life starts.”
I shake myself out of a blur, reaching for the knife Killian has in his hand, with his gun in the other. “Babe, what are you doing?”
Before I can think about anything else, I rush forward, jumping over the dead body at my feet. Kosta is laughing, watching the pure manic scene that’s unfolding around us. Right now, I don’t care that there are stray bullets flying through the air.
I don’t care.
I just want one thing. One.
I lean up with a scream, launching the tip of the knife right into his chest. I’m shocked at how easy it was to sink it into his body.
His cigar falls to the ground, his face crumpling.
Someone is yelling in the background, but I ignore it. “You needed to die,” I whisper, pushing him backward until he’s falling back into his chair.
Killian’s arms wrap around me as he slings me over his shoulder, everything turning upside down. He draws his gun and shoots one of Kosta’s guards that are near the front door. It’s not until we’re out in the open that he puts me down to my feet.
“I—” I stop talking.
Killian grabs onto my hand and directs me toward a jeep that’s on the outskirts of the property, where it merges into forest land. Kyrin is in the driver’s seat, waiting.
Killian picks me back up and throws me into the back, swinging the passenger’s door open to slide in.
“Kill!” King calls out, running up to the car. “We’re going to burn the house down to the ground.”
“How many did we lose?”
King’s eyes come to mine as he shuffles in his spot. “Two.”
“We’ll be back.”
King bangs on the roof of the car and Kyrin sets off, driving us through a clearing between bushes. We duck and swerve between trees, completely off road.
After maybe ten minutes, Kyrin stops, jumping out of the car as Killian comes around to face me.
“What? You’re going to kill me?” I ask, knowing that that was probably going to happen. I’ve caused a lot of drama. I was a snitch without realizing I was a snitch. They didn’t care about that, though, all they know is that I was a Patience child. I had to go.
“You think we’re going to kill you?” Killian laughs, pulling me out of the Jeep. “I need to show you something.”
Kyrin follows closely behind us as we head through two small trees. A cabin comes into view, wooden walls constructed by rusted metal fittings. There are no visible windows, and an aged rocking chair at the front.
“I know this place. Why am I here?” I scrunch my eyes as if to block out the memory.