“With what?” Ryon didn’t even flinch as he put the needle in and pulled his skin back together.
“He wants me to kill someone.”
“Argh.Fuck!” The cotton snapped because Ryon had pulled the needle too hard. The whole thing unraveled and his wound gaped again. He didn’t have enough hands, so I stepped forward, despite my unease, and made myself hold the wound together for him while he sorted out his thread and started sewing again.
“That looked like it hurt.” I tried not to look at what he was doing, as I put pressure either side of his injury.
“I guess there’s things in the world that can still shock me. What did you say?”
“There was only one answer. I agreed to do it.”
Ryon shook his head. “Fuck. I’m sorry you ever got dragged into this shit.”
“I didn’t think you’d care.”
He paused in his stitching and frowned at me. “Why not?”
“You do it all the time.”
He growled. I felt awkward for the flippant way I’d spoken.
“I broke that barrier a long time ago. And I don’t recommend it. There’s no coming back from that. The first time you take a life, it scars your soul. Keep yours pure.”
“How can I?” I was frustrated, now. “I don’t want to go through with this. Of course I don’t. But what the fuck else can I do? I’m trapped here until Urgoth releases me. I’m caught up in all this gang shit. This guy Lenor, he knew all about me. He’s got contacts, probably in enforcement. And the guy he wants me to kill is one, too.”
“Anenforcer?He wants you to kill an enforcer? And you agreed? How can you compare that to my job?”
“Because you’re nothing special, and neither am I. Neither of us should have the power over whether other people live or die. So what does it matter who it is? You’re creating this big fantasy for yourself where you justify what you do because you only take out bad guys, but no one is really bad and good. Everyone’s sort of in the middle and some people are selfish sometimes and some are kind. Who the fuck are you to say who gets to go home tonight?”
Ryon sighed. “There’s a world of difference between ridding the world of scum who make it a worse place to live and taking away an enforcer who is trying to make the world safe and good. If you can’t see that, then I don’t know how to explain it to you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing for a while, and Ryon stitched himself up in silence while I kept up the pressure to hold the wound together.
“Tell me, then. What thefuckam I supposed to do right now? Because I don’t know. And I’m scared shitless. I don’t want to do this but I don’t know how to get away from it.”
He didn’t have an answer. I’m not sure I expected him to. As soon as he’d finished fixing himself up, I went into the bedroom and flopped on the bed. Staring at the uneven, cracked ceiling, I tried to think my options through. Basically, I didn’t have any. What else was new? My whole life had been one long railroad of shit, each new stop on the train track, more shit had been added, and now I was drowning in it and couldn’t find the way out. Maybe there never had been one.
Maybe Ryon didn’t want me to do tonight’s task because he didn’t want me going near any other alphas when I was unbonded, in case they smelled what I was, and decided to claim me for themselves. Could Imperial Command stop a high-level enforcer from taking me by force? I doubted it. Lenor had told me to seduce Berin. It wouldn’t take long for him to figure out I was an omega in those circumstances. And I was so much weaker than any alpha, I would have to kill him fast or I’d get completely overpowered.
Perhaps Ryon was just mad because he wanted to protect me. He seemed to care about me, but he hadn’t exactly done anything to make Urgoth change his mind about using me.
All I knew was, I had to at leasttryto take care of this alpha. It was my only chance at getting this whole assignment finished so I couldpossiblybe free.
***
Ryon
I followed Natasha to her destination. My sniper blaster was in a case in one hand. I didn’t want her to know I was here. I’d considered asking Urgoth to arrange some kind of switcheroo but he wasn’t answering my attempts to call him. I hadn’t gone out of my way to keep calling. I didn’t entirely trust him since he’d been such an asshole to Natasha.
When she went inside the building, I went in after her and watched the elevator until it stopped at the twelfth floor. Going into the building opposite, I climbed staircase after staircase until I reached the roof. Lying on my stomach, I pulled out my vision enhancers and searched each room on floor twelve of the building she’d gone into. I found her in one. My blood boiled. Another alpha was pawing at her.
Gritting my teeth, I put my weapon together. I had to clear my mind. An emotional sniper... who ever heard of that? It would be ineffective. I pointed the weapon at the alpha. In the hardest task of my career to date, I held back. Waited for the right moment.
He pulled at her top. She reached for a weapon in her pants. He noticed, and grabbed her wrist, turning it painfully until she was on her knees, eyes wide.
I had a clear head shot, but his chest was angled sideways from me, so I’d only hit a lung from here. He raised his hand to her, obscuring his head.Fuck. I could take the shot and potentially fail, meaning she would be in more danger and he’d be alerted to my presence, or I could wait for him to hit her.
Waiting killed me. I never wanted to see her get hurt. I had to remind myself this would have ended in her death if I hadn’t followed her. He brought his hand down and struck her across the face. She fell sideways.