“Oh, I bet,” I shot back. “I know all about the married abusive men you like to take to bed, Voss.”
Her eyes flared, just for a second, but I saw it. A hit. And I kept going.
“You really thought you could hide it all? The threats, the cases you buried, the victims you silenced, the women you let suffer while you climbed the ranks on your back. You’re done.”
She took a step forward, jaw clenched.
“It’s all out there,” I said, louder now. “The records. The victims. The internal memos. Right now, everyone will be reading up onalllllof your transgressions... everyone knows what a vile, desperate bitch you are.”
The smile dropped from her face.
I didn't even have a chance to blink.
And then she moved.
Her fist slammed into my stomach before I could react.
Pain detonated through my core. My knees hit the dirt. Breath vanished. Fire bloomed behind my eyes.
Harlan surged forward. “Ava!” But Bishop raised his weapon fast, shoving it against Harlan’s chest.
“Ah-ah,” Bishop warned. “One more step and we paint the trees with her brains.”
Harlan froze, shaking with rage. His eyes locked on me as I tried to lift my head.
I couldn’t speak. Could barely breathe.
But then I saw it. Movement.
Beyond Erin. Beyond the tight ring of men.
A figure stepped from the smoke.
Gray.
Relief spread in my chest like a flame, a flicker of hope...
Then it extinguished.
Because he wasn’t alone.
A man followed close behind, rifle aimed at the back of Gray’s head. His hands were up. Blood streaked the side of his face, his expression blank with barely concealed pain.
“No,” I breathed, trembling. “No, no, no...”
Erin clapped her hands together like she was watching the grand finale. “The gang’s all here!” she sing-songed. “Wait... Where’s Remi? Still in hiding with her little gang? Or did she finally run out of people willing to die for her?”
Please... stay gone, Remi. Let them think you’re dead. Let them forget you.
In that moment, I felt sorry for Voss, for not understanding the kind of found family, the kind of love you would willingly lay your life down for.
I took a deep, steadying breath, breathing through the pain in my body.
This was it...
A stillness settled in the air.
A quiet too heavy to be natural.
