“Give me one fucking reason to not do it,” I growled. “Not only does no one touch me without permission, I know three men who would kill anyone for doing less.”
“Those boys are not men, and they are no family of mine,” he grit out through clenched teeth as he tried to escape my hold.
“Don’t worry, Hector. They warned me about you, and the feeling is definitely mutual,” I jeered, letting go of him and allowing him to move away.
“They will change their tune when I expose you and all you’ve done here. Selling to our enemies behind their fucking back? You think they’d stick around for that?”
“They waited eleven years for me, you disgusting fuck. You think this would ruin us?” I asked, a smirk coming through full force. “No, no, no. I’ll be ruling their empire right beside them one day, and I’ll make it my life goal that you never have access to a dime of their fortune or their home ever again.”
The threat was empty. I knew that my time with them was limited, but now wasn’t the right time to indulge that ugly truth; I’d rather let Hector stew in the misery I’d make his life in the time I had left.
“You’ll never make it that far,” he bit out, and it must have been the final straw to his sanity. His teeth bared in a snarl as he lashed out, but he didn’t reach me. I’d finally had enough, raising my gun and shooting to kill.
Like my shop was some sort of fucking parade, the doors opened again. My guys slammed through the door, followed by a wide-eyed Dani. Everyone had guns at the ready.
“You’re fucking late!” I yelled accusingly, waving around the shop as if they couldn’t see the destruction. My relief and frustration came out as snark, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.
“What the fuck?! Is that Hector? And Devin?!” Keir asked, his eyes flicking from one part of the chaos to the other. For a moment, I was worried, afraid they wouldn’t want to hear my explanation.
“Yes… well, if that man over there is Devin, then yes,” I said, pointing to the first man I’d killed. “He tried to kill Gabe, who stood up for me when he came in here demanding to know all my secrets.”
“We’ll talk about that after,” Killian said dryly. “Why the shooting?”
“Well, he got shot when he hurt Gabe, then your lovely uncle slapped me in the pussy and said he’d like to find out what the hype was all about. Oh, and he reminded me about how he thinks you’re all inferior and don’t deserve to run the Family. Even with all of that, I only killed him when he came at me. I gave him every possible chance. “I don’t play when my life is on the line, and he made his choices,” I said firmly, crossing my arms.
“This shop is fucked,” Dani supplied unhelpfully. Whether that was her awkward way of trying to break the tension or prove of being oblivious to the tension, it was hard to know. She moved around, pulling down the blinds and locking the door to keep the public out.
“The shop?! My entire life has been fucked since you guys found me again!” I snarled at the guys, my nerves taking over now that adrenaline was slamming through my being. “All because I sell a few guns on the side. I wasn’t even that fucking big. I sell like a gun every few fucking months!” My throat went dry when I realized what I’d said.
“It’s not about the amount,” Keir said angrily, but Dani butt in.
“Is now a bad time to tell you that someone burned down the apartment?” she asked, entirely unapologetic, but it was enough to deflate my anger. With no fight left, I quietly walked away, heading for my office. I’d just lost my businesses and my home in one fucking day, my body ached from escaping the basement, and I wanted to be alone. I locked the door and flopped down in my chair, resting my head on my desk.
“Sana,” Killian said from outside the door, but I didn’t respond. I was numb and exhausted, suddenly realizing why Eros had always insisted emotions were a messy weakness. He pounded his fist on the door, but I wasn’t budging. The lock shifted for a few moments, the sound of metal scraping audible before the door swung open. Killian crouched in the now open space, grinning with a lockpicking tool in hand. The smile fell as he took me in, coming over as I dropped my head back down.
“Nope. Stop. I’ve seen you do this, and we aren’t doing it this time.” Surprised, I glanced up at him.
“Get up, now.”
“No,” I said. Laughing darkly, he pulled me to my feet, forcing me to stand. I snarled, cocking my fist back and slamming it into his jaw. He didn’t flinch, not making a single move to fight me.
“Go ahead, Baby Girl. Do your worst,” he taunted, goading me as he poked at my face, only fueling my anger. Somewhere in my mind, I knew he was doing it on purpose, but I wasn’t in the head space to care. All I could do was lash out, my anger needing a physical form. Killian stood there, taking each blow with a soft grunt and zero resistance. Frustration consumed me as I landed blow after blow.
“Enough!” With that command, I found myself over his lap, the first whack landing on my ass with a resounding crack. My ass bloomed with heat, and I thrashed against him.
“Fuck you, Killian, stop spanking me!” I screamed. The action was such a swift change I almost laughed. When I had bad days back in high school, he’d do this, but I would’ve never expected it now. I struggled a bit, but he held a strong arm over my back, keeping me in place, while his other rained hard smacks on my ass. If it wasn't for my jeans, I’d be losing this fight a lot fucking quicker.
“You done?”
“Fuck you,” I growled, but my fight was draining. He didn’t stop, the methodical blows lulling my brain to a restful state. My emotions calmed, but they didn’t numb this time; they simply went from hurricane to soft rain, giving my brain a chance to catch up with everything.
“You done?” he asked again, his tone soft as his hand rubbed gently over my flaming jean-covered cheeks. Letting out a long breath, I nodded, Kill helping me get up before hugging me tightly. “It’s going to be fine. We’ll figure this out.” A promise from Killian was one he would keep, so I kept that in mind as he rocked me for a few minutes, calming me.
“Take me home.”
The talk about the weapons business was impending, so I took another gulp of whiskey, taking the bottle with me to the living room where they were waiting. It had been a day since I killed Hector, and they’d given me that long to relax while they handled things with the Family. So here we were, ready to dive into a conversation I'd definitely rather not have. They didn’t look too happy, but at least they’d stopped glaring.
“Sit the fuck down and explain this to us, now,” Keir growled, snatching the bottle as I walked by. I flopped down on the chair and waited for them to pass it back before starting.