But it’s not enough.
I take a box cutter from the workbench and place it against Jack’s throat.“Do we have a deal?”
I’m breathless, and my heart beats uncontrollably.The atmosphere is charged, and Jack knows I’m not playing.
Eventually, his head bobbles in a nod.
I grip his hair and yank his head back, razor pressed into his jugular.“Say it.”
“We have a deal,” Jack slurs, barely clutching onto consciousness.
Even though I’ve “won,” it doesn’t feel like it.The only winning will be spilling his blood.I press the blade in deeper, nicking his skin.I stare at the trickle of blood, mesmerized.
My hands are shaking, and my adrenaline is animated.I could end this here, now.
God, I want to.
But in the end, I don’t want to be like Jack Bloom.I made a promise to the women, and killing him robs them of their retribution.
I scream, overwhelmed by this sharp sense of guilt.I wish it would go away.
I don’t want to do what is right.
Kit gently places his hand over mine.“Don’t let him win again.”
“I know!I just—” I don’t even know what I’m trying to say.“I— It’s not fair.”
“It’s not.Life rarely is.But it’s time to make things right.”
Looking into Kit’s eyes, I wrestle with my morals and finally succumb.
I loosen my grip on the box cutter, which Kit removes from my shaky hands.
I’m nearly hyperventilating.
“Go inside.I’ll take care of the rest.”
The fight inside me has died, and I nod.
I take one last look at Jack, bloody and beaten, and although content, I know that sooner or later, I’ll want more.
But for now, it’ll do.
“She’s fucking dead!”
Those are the words I wake to.
It takes my groggy mind a moment to wade through the murkiness.
Last night, I got my revenge.
I got revenge for us all.
As hard as it was for me to let go, I allowed Kit to take over.
Pretty sure I passed out in his bed after that.
“Who?”Kit groggily asks.
