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“Then go make Renard comfortable. I will not have his painful death on my conscience.”
“Conscience?” Konrad remarks, shaking his head. “Says the man who has a gun pointing at hisbrother’schest.”
‘Yes, conscience,” I snap. “That’swhyI’m pointing a gun at you, arsehole. I won’t let you in here so you can do whatever the fuck you want to Christy. I’m protecting her from you.”
“And who’s protecting Zero from you, huh, brother?” he asks me, snorting back a laugh.
I fall silent knowing that he’s right, that despite my promises not to hurt her, despite these feelings of empathy, care, fucking kindness, I’m still that man who cut her and smothered his cock with her blood. I’m still that man who wants to do the same all over again.
“Whatever it is you think I want to do to Zero, Idon’t,” Konrad continues. “Renard needs Thirteen. Perhaps Nala should stay here with you both. Would that work, Thirteen? Would you feel more comfortable if Nala were to remain here with Christy so that you can tend to Renard without fear that Leon will turn on her?”
“I won’t turn on her!” I protest. Fucking arsehole playing good guy.
Thirteen looks over her shoulder at Christy. “How do you feel about that?”
“I have no issues with Nala,” she says quietly, stepping into my peripheral vision. I feel the heat of her gaze but I refuse to take my eyes off of Konrad. “But I’m not comfortable with Thirteen going alone. Leon, you should go with her.”
“No.” I shake my head as Konrad looks between us, his gaze falling on the spot where Christy presses her fingers against my arm. His astonishment would be funny if I wasn’t so utterly dumbfounded by her touch, so fuckingshockedby it. I swallow hard. “I won’t leave you vulnerable.”
“Are you afraid that I’ll run?” she asks softly.
“There’s nowhere to run to,” I remind her, forcing myself to concentrate on Konrad and not the way her touch burns my skin. “I know my brother. Jakub will seize the opportunity to get to you if I leave you alone.”
“He’s occupied with the Numbers right now. You don’t need to be concerned about him,” Konrad says.
“The hell I don’t,” I cut back. “Don’t lie to me. I’m not a fool.”
“Then we all go,” Thirteen interjects. “I can treat Renard. You can watch over us both.”
“Sounds like a solid plan,” Konrad says with an easy smile. “At least Renard won’t be alone when the time comes.”
“How fucking noble of you,” I scoff, launching forward and shoving him in the chest before slamming the door in his face. I only lower the gun once my back is pressed against the door. “Gather what you need, Thirteen.”
She nods, rushing towards her bag and double-checking the contents whilst Christy opens her arms and Nala walks into them. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers.
“It’s me who should be saying that to you,” Nala replies, hiccuping, her tears falling heavy now. “He hurt you.”
Christy nods, meeting my gaze. “Yes, he did,” she replies softly.
Unable to stand the way Christy’s looking at me, I open the door and step into the hallway where Konrad awaits with one foot propped up against the wall, the nonchalant fuck. “Don’t pretend you actually give two shits about Renard. I know your game and it won’t fucking work,” I say.
“And you do give two shits?”
“Yes, motherfucker! Ithurtsto care. It fucking hurts like nothing else ever has. You don’t look like a man in pain. In fact, you look very much like the man our father always wanted you to be. Relaxed, smug, fucking dangerous.”
“You know jack shit. You’re so caught up in your own little cloud of emotions that you see nothing beyond them. I hurt, too.”
“Hurt?!” I bark out a laugh. “Bullshit. You wanted her dead.”
“Need I remind you thatyouwere the one who killed her!”
“It was a mistake. I thought…”
“You thought that strangling her wouldn’t fucking end her life? Don’t forget I was in the room, too. I witnessed everything that happened.”
“And you didnothingto stop me.” I look him up and down, sneering. “This is an act, and if you think for one fucking second I’m going to trust you with Christy, you’ve got another thing coming!”
“I wanted to help!” he bellows, pushing off the wall. I hold the gun up and he walks right into it, the barrel digging into his chest. “I wanted to bring her back!”
