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“We can’t just kill her,” I say quietly.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Look. That fucker…” I point down to the lump of flesh and blood that’s all that’s left of Nikolai now. “He killed our mom because she was a loose end, right? Because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we kill this girl, we’ll be just like him.” I glance over at Victor, who’s standing there with his arms folded, watching this all play out. “Back me up here, Vic.”
He just lets out a breath, not chiming in one way or the other. I get the feeling that he hasn’t picked a side yet, still running through a bunch of variables in his head.
Malice’s jaw tightens, and I watch several emotions play out over his face in quick succession. Rage is the primary one, but that’s just how Malice is, so it’s not a surprise. He’s clearly wrestling with himself, torn between our available options here.
“Come on, Malice,” I murmur. “You know I’m right.”
His nostrils flare with irritation, and he steps up to the girl, getting right in her face. The gun with the silencer on it is still aimed at her head, but his finger is looser on the trigger now.
“If you tellanyonewhat you saw, we’ll fucking kill you,” he tells her in a low voice. “No hesitation. No questions. No second chances. I don’t give a fuck what reason you have or who you tell. You open your mouth, and you’re dead. Got it?”
She nods, her eyes so wide and scared they’re taking up most of her face now.
He stands there for a second, taking her in, like he’s trying to figure out if she’s telling the truth or not. But even Malice, distrustful and angry as he is, can’t help but see the truth in the fear on her face. She’s clearly terrified of what might happen.
That makes him stand down just a little. Enough to take a step back, even though he keeps the gun aimed at her.
“What’s your name?” he demands.
The girl opens her mouth, and at first no sound comes out. Then she looks at the gun in Malice’s hand again and tries harder to find her voice.
“W-Willow,” she manages. “Willow Hayes.”
Malice looks over at Vic, and our brother nods.
“On it.” He types something into his phone, using that special skill he has for finding shit. A moment later, he nods, glancing back up. “That’s her. She’s telling the truth.”
Malice looks like he’s a second away from spitting on the ground and storming out, disgust and anger twisting his already sharp features. He takes a deep breath and lets it out in a rush, then steps back, lowering the gun at last.
For a second, the girl stays frozen in place, her legs trembling while she looks at him.
I clear my throat to get her attention, and when her gaze darts to me, I tilt my head toward the door.
“This is the part where you fly away, little bird,” I murmur.
That gets her in gear, and she flees for the door, scrambling to leave the room like she’s afraid Malice will shoot her in the back if she doesn’t go quick enough.
“Fuck,” Malice repeats, shoving his gun into the waistband of his pants.
I watch the girl go, dragging the piercing in my tongue absently between my teeth. It might be a mistake to let her live, but I couldn’t just let Mal kill her. We already killed the madame of this whorehouse, as well as the guard out front, and that’s not something I feel all that bad about. But that girl was too sweet and innocent looking. She wasn’t wrapped up in this shit like everyone else who died tonight.
“We should get back on track,” Victor says, putting his phone away. “We’ve wasted too much time already.”
“Right,” I agree with a nod, shaking my head to clear it. “Time to burn this sucker down.”
We split up, spreading kerosene throughout the brothel, getting ready to burn it to the ground to cover our tracks.
5
WILLOW
My heart feelslike it’s about to explode out of my chest.
I make it out of the brothel in one piece, even though the whole time I’m worried one of them is going to change their minds and come kill me. But I escape onto the dimly lit street, gasping at the night air as soon as I leave the building.
