“Is the least of my problems,” I finished for him. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. What are you going to do, Ryan? Are you going to cooperate with us? Obviously some on the force are corrupt since my record is squeaky fucking clean. Are you one of them, or are you just a damn problem I need to dispose of?”
“I’m not corrupt! No one here is!” Ryan countered indignantly. “If you hurt me, they’ll find me and you.”
I burst out laughing, though the sound was definitely not amused. “Darling, there would need to be a body left over, and I guarantee there won’t be. So, choose a side. Mine or death.”
“I won’t help you.” Ryan glared at me in defiance and opened his mouth to say something else, but it was too late. His head exploded, brain and blood splattering Wrenn as she screamed, watching her brother crumple to the ground. I whirled around and backhanded Wrenn, snarling at her to shut up. She silently held a hand to her face, staring at me as if I were a monster.
It was about time she realized how much I had changed.
Iama monster.
Too many emotions, revelations, and secrets revealed back-to-back today. Emotional whiplash made me numb and even more practical than ever. My grip on sanity was slipping, I distantly realized, as I stared down my ex covered in her brother’s blood and brains. Too bad there wasn’t anything I could do to take it back… but there was also the small fact that I wouldn’t even if I could. Petty was a good fucking color on me.
“Take care of him for me, Maksim,” I ordered blandly, holding out the gun to Ansel. “Do whatever you want with him as long as he’s gone before we leave. Ansel, come with me.”
Maks and Alexei started to move as I turned on my heel and headed back for the house. The tools weren’t important now. I heard three sets of footsteps fall in step with me then someone running to catch up. Wrenn hurried to get in front of us, making me stop. She was covered in blood and brain as she faced off with me, anger and pain warring on her face.
“You bitch!”
“He was in the way,” I countered, cocking my head as I considered her. “And right now, so are you. Move.”
“He was my brother! How could you?! You monster.”
“Yes,” I hissed, stepping toward her. “I warned you, Wrenn. Told you multiple fucking times that I had changed from the girl you knew, but you weresoconvinced that it was fine. Iama monster, and I won’t make an apologies for what I became to survive the hand life dealt me. You want to hate what I‘ve become? Look in the fucking mirror, Wrenn. You helped create this.”
“It was years ago!” Wrenn screamed back. Behind her, the door to the house opened, and I saw the other guys join us outside. They seemed cautious, and even Sacha and Vas looked concerned once they realized what was happening.Or at least some of it.“Get over it.”
“Get over it?” I repeated. “I lived on the streets for years selling the only thing I had, my fucking body, to make it. Every day could have been my last; every john I fucked could have killed me. We were kids, sure, but you fucking broke me, and age won’t change that. So I guess we can call it even now. You broke me, and I broke you. Why don’t you try to put yourself back together and tell me just how easy it is?”
Wrenn pulled out a gun she had hidden somewhere on herself. Time slowed down as she held it up, her hands shaking when she tried to aim with a finger on the trigger. I laughed, the unhinged sound filling the air as she hesitated, and then Ansel was standing in front of me, shielding me in case Wrenn actually took the shot.
“I might be a monster, but you aren’t, Wrenn. How disappointing. But we can’t have you messing up what we are doing either.” I tsked, walking around Ansel and grabbing the gun from Wrenn who had collapsed onto the ground, silently crying.
Glock 22, probably Ryan’s. I clicked my tongue and held onto it as I turned to face my men. The rustling behind me hinted at movement, and before Wrenn could do whatever she was thinking of, I spun around and shot her. The bullet hit her in the stomach, a shitty shot, but a painful one. I was losing control. Wrenn fell back on her knees, grabbing at her stomach. It wasn’t a kill shot, but she’d bleed out soon enough. She started cursing me, so I slammed the butt of the gun on her head, feeling satisfied when she slumped over, blessedly silent.
When I turned around again, Ansel appeared the most neutral, his expression showing nothing but his patience and lack of surprise. The others… Their expressions varied from shocked to concerned, though Bodhi looked surprisingly understanding.
“Sorry, Bodhi.” I half-smiled. “This might have been more violent than my reunion with Wrenn.”
Bodhi chuckled, making Oli smirk. “Just a little bit.”
“What the hell happened out here?”
“I killed her brother, and I think she had some issues with it,” I answered Sacha’s question. “He was in the way.”
“Where are Alexei and Maksim?” Rhodes asked as Sacha rubbed his face.
“Dealing with Ryan’s body.”
“There are a bunch of dead kids in the garage,” Oli said, his voice cracking before he took a shaky breath. “Did you break down the wall yet?”
“Yes,” Vas rumbled, but he didn’t elaborate.
Sacha pinned me with a hard stare. “I think it’s time we put everything on the table. We need a game plan to get your brother back, Nic. Get inside so we can figure this out before we leave this house.”
“What are you going to do with Wrenn?” Bodhi asked, staring down at my ex.
I nudged her with my foot, but she was out cold. “She’ll be dead soon enough. Call me vindictive, but I don’t feel inclined to let her die quickly. A secure place for her to slowly bleed out works for me. ”