I hear Dagger laughing, and as I approach, he falls to his knees. And Libby’s hand is bleeding pretty good as she begs Mason not to kill her. I pull my Glock from my hip, pointing it straight at Dagger’s forehead.
“You got the crazy bitch?” I call to Mason.
“Sure fuckin’ do,” Mason says, looking at Libby. “You mind telling me who the fuck she is?”
Dagger’s grinning like a fucking headcase. It’s now that I realize he’s high as fuck.
I shoot him in the foot just for fucking fun, and his laugh morphs into a howl as I turn and pull Mia up from the grass, wrapping my free arm around her.
“Okay, baby, you’re safe.”
* * *
Mia
I have no control over my trembling as Aiden pulls me into him, keeping his gun aimed at Dagger as he kisses my face.
“Are you hurt?” He kisses me again.
“No, just woozy,” I tell him.
“A little help?” Mason calls over his shoulder.
Aiden looks down, assesses me quickly, then kisses me once more.
“Stay here,” he says.
I nod, settling into the grass, and watch Aiden and Mason make quick work of tying Libby’s and Dagger’s hands behind their backs with their own rope, all while Dagger grunts out that we’re all gonna die.
Mason laughs. “Truck?” he asks Aiden.
Aiden nods, and Mason tosses Dagger into the open box of Dagger’s pickup.
Aiden tightens the knot around Libby’s wrists, and she cries out, asking them not to hurt Dagger, but he ignores her and hoists her into the back of the pickup to join Dagger.
Aiden returns to me and kisses my forehead. “My fighter…Rhiannon.” He scoops me up, and I begin sobbing quietly.
I’m totally spent, adrenaline crashing while I settle against his warm chest and let my tears stream down my cheeks. They’re tears of relief that Aiden and Mason came when they did and tears of heartbreak, knowing that my sister was murdered.
Nic didn’t want to die. Her life was stolen.
I sit in the front seat, between Mason and Aiden, and we quickly reach the cabin. As Aiden lifts me out of the truck, I thump my fist gently against his chest. “Dagger killed Nic! He killed her!”
I turn my head so Mason can hear as he prepares to pull Dagger from the back of the truck. “He gave Nic the drugs, Mase.” I sob. “She didn’t want to die.”
Mason goes deathly still, processing, and then he goes fucking apeshit. A sinister growl leaves his chest as he yanks Dagger from the tailgate, throwing him violently across the gravel yard. Mason straddles him, gun in hand, and pistol whips him over and over.
Every sickening crack brings me peace, as do every single one of Libby’s screams.
“You put a fucking needle in her arm?” Mason’s voice booms through the quiet night as he presses his gun to Dagger’s forehead.
“Wait!” Aiden tells him, still holding me tight. “Killing him now is letting him off easy. Let’s get them inside.”
Mason looks back at me in Aiden’s arms and says quietly, “You were right. She didn’t want to die.”
I try to sniff back fresh sobs, but there’s no stopping them as Aiden carries me toward the cabin.
“Shhhhhh,” he murmurs against my hair. “I promise Dagger will die, and he’s going to suffer. And so is the bitch he brought with him.”
