Page 154 of XO Karma

“Would it sweeten the deal if I told you Lily was alive?”

The room spins on its axis, oxygen coming in short supply. He says the words as if they’re nothing. As if that truth wouldn’t change the rest of my entire goddamn existence. “Prove it.”

He laughs, and I want to pistol whip the sight off his face. “I don’t have to prove shit. I don’t really care if you believe me or not.”

My hands shake, and my reasons for keeping this prick alive are dwindling by the millisecond. Is he telling the truth? God, I hope so. “What the hell do you want from me?”

“For you to agree to work for me.” When hell freezes over.

I weigh my options. She’s hopefully alive. I know Jackson had something to do with it. Did he kill her? Fake her death?

I rub a hand over my stubble, trying to buy time while I figure out this unsolvable puzzle. “What’s in it for me?”

“We don’t put a bullet through her pretty head.”

“So that’s why you did all this?” Blind rage skirts across my skin. “You kidnapped her to get to me?” Guilt washes through me. I’ve put someone I love in danger once again.

“No.” He waves me off. “But I do like to find an opportunity where one might least expect it, and I’d call this a happy coincidence.”

“You said you have a partner. Before I agree to anything, I’d like to meet him.”

Jude chuckles, the sound making my skin crawl. Why does he think this is all so funny? If he realized how utterly close I am to snapping his neck, would he still find this conversation so humorous? “You don’t just meet the boss.”

“I thought he was your partner.”

Jude’s jaw ticks. “You ask a lot of questions for someone who needs a favor.”

“Well, forgive me if I’m not eager to get into business with some macabre wanker,” I say, glancing at one of the skeleton pieces beside his desk.

“I think you’ve underestimated your choice in all this. Either you work for us,” he says, a smug smile on his face, “or we’ll kill Lily and have our detective take that little video of you in as evidence.”

Anger thrums through my veins, the heat of the gun all but branding my back. “So you plan to blackmail me for the foreseeable future?”

He shrugs. “Given your lack of leverage, I’d say it’s a fair offer.”

I’ve been in bed with snakes before. And I’d rather die than endure that again. I’d rather be drowned in the depths of the ocean than be forced under someone’s manipulative thumb.

Which is why I break my one rule, pull out the gun, and fire a single bullet between Judious Westerford’s eyes.

45

ASTER

His body drops to the floor with a thud, blood leaking from his head. Fifteen bullets left. Seconds later, the door bursts open. Three guards stumble in, their attention dropping to Jude before their wide eyes meet mine, my barrel already pointed their way.

One reaches for his gun. I pull the trigger, firing a shot close enough to graze his hand, and he shrieks. Fourteen bullets left. “No one else move, or the next shot won’t miss,” I instruct.

They begrudgingly put their hands in the air.

“Any of you know where a pink-haired little spitfire is? She’s about yay high,” I say, gesturing with my free hand. “Probably cussed you out on the way in.” The one I shot is useless, crying like a little bitch. The other two share a look. “Where is she?!”

“You can shoot them,” an all too familiar voice says. Years of dark memories flood to the surface. “But they won’t tell you shit.”

My hand trembles on the weapon, and I struggle to show my strength. The men step apart, and my father walks through the door. The sight hits me like a truck as his eyes meet mine. Eyes that are but a mirror, the same emerald color as my own. It’s been years since I’ve seen his face. “Leave us,” he tells the guards, waving a hand, and my eyes bounce between them.

“Are you sure—” a guard starts, and my father cuts him off with a flick of his wrist.

“I think I can handle being alone with my own son.”