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A nervous quake I feel in my chest.
Lynn’s mouth opens, her blue eyes curving up as she watches me, the predator with its prey in sight. “Put your guns down, and we can have a little chat.”
“I’m not going tonegotiatewith you when you’ve got your daughter tied up and being threatened at knife-point by a fucking priest.” Elia cocks his gun, clenching his jaw. “Let her the fuck go or I’m just gonna blow your brains out.”
She shrugs one shoulder, pulling the scarf away. It falls to the floor as she grips the gun in both hands, turning it from me to Elia. “God, I never did like you. Maybe I’ll just do away with you first. Serve you right for stealing my good daughter and making her your whore.”
“The only whore here is you,stronza. Orchestrating an entire sex trafficking ring is a pretty low way to sell out,” Elia says, not backing down.
Turning my head ever-so-slightly, I glance at Juliet from the corner of my eye, needing her form to remind me not to act on the violent urge coursing through me. The low heat simmering in my bloodstream, the ire prickling in my stomach, making my fist clench and unclench at my side.
She watches me, seemingly unperturbed by the knife prodding her skin; her back is ramrod straight, her head leaned forward slightly as if to get the best angle possible. When her eyebrows knit together, confusion marring her beautiful features, I damn near lose every ounce of self-control I possess.
The demon inside me is fast losing its cool, shaking with untethered wrath, but if I make a sudden move, I can’t trust we’ll all make it out of here alive.
I told her weeks ago that if she stopped running, I could keep her safe. It’s one promise I intend to keep.
My fingernails dig into my palms as I tear my gaze away.
“...do what we have to to keep our control in this world,” Lynn’s saying, stumbling slightly as she takes another step. “Don’t act so high and mighty, Montalto. As if you have any less blood on your hands than me. Dominic and I got into this racket to pay off his debts and advance his political career. A career we used to try and better King’s Trace. Small price to pay for a lot of good, no? What’syourexcuse?”
“I’m not out here hurtinginnocentpeople. Everyone I come into contact with is a part of the same world, and you know as well as I do that blood is a part of the game.”
Glancing at me, perhaps to make sure I’ve not made any sudden moves, she shrugs again. “And what about the people who buy your drugs, hm? Or does it not bother you to feed their addictions?”
Elia swallows, eyes hardening. “It’s not my job to care about the vices of other adults.”
“Well, what about the families you destroy by enabling them? How do you sleep at night knowing the inordinate amount of cash tied to your name is hurtingthem?” She cocks her head. “What about the loved ones of the made men you torture and kill? Aren’t they innocent?”
“If you’re trying to paint yourself in a better light,” I say, finally peeling my dry tongue from the roof of my mouth, “reminding us of our crimes really isn’t the way to do it. Ours still pale in comparison.”
Glaring daggers through my forehead, she redirects her aim and attention my way.Perfect.I share a quick look with Elia, gesturing with my eyes to Juliet, and he nods almost imperceptibly.
“Dothey?” she asks, a wicked smile stretching her Botoxed lips, evil emanating from every pore of her body. “I have to say, Kieran, I didn’t think anyone’s record could even touch yours. How many real-life skeletons do you have hidden in your closet? Can you even keep track anymore?”
She tosses it in for shock value, I know, but I still bristle, becausehow the fuck does she know there’s anything in my closet at all?Sliding my gaze back to Juliet, I cock an eyebrow in question, and she blinks rapidly, as if trying to communicate through Morse code.
I can’t imagine she’d divulge that information to someone she hates, though, so I ignore the comment and brush over it. “Just admit it, Lynn. You’re mad I fucked-up your organization, and you want me to repent for my sins.”
“Repent?” she laughs, the sound maniacal and unhinged. “No, sweetie, I won’t even give you the chance. I want that flash drive, and then I want to see a bullet pop through the other side of your head.”
“You think Juliet will forgive you if you kill me?”
Scoffing, she tosses a flippant look over my shoulder. “What do I care if she forgives me? Her opinions on things never mattered much, anyway. She’d just do or think whatever we told her.” Tilting her head to the side, a look of disgust pulls her features taut, as if she’s just remembered a bad scent. “But I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that, Kieran. Shelistensto you, right? A good little slut, just like we always told her she needed to be if she wanted any kind of decent life. Never was good at much, but word around town is she can suck a cock like no other.”
“How can you—”
“You Ivers boys are soweak. A pretty face just does you right in, huh?” Lynn laughs, her chest wracking with the force of it. “It was so easy to convince your brother he’d hurt that girl he was dating, so easy for him to just lose it and throw himself to the wolves. Made for a perfect scapegoat.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask. “Murphy didn’t hurt Mel?”
“Oh, he did eventually. You saw that. But she wasn’t the reason he got picked up. Dominic planted her at the transport site on purpose, because we needed an older girl for a particular bidder. Murphy’s reaction just played right into our hands.”
Her speech is slurred a bit, trailing off at the ends of her words.
Rage slithers down my spine, urging me to end this conversation. To rush forward, jam the barrel of my gun down this woman’s throat and keep it there until she chokes on her own vomit. The image is so pristine in my mind, so daunting for the briefest moment, that when I snap back and hear Elia’s low growl, I’m surprised to find I’ve remained still.
“That’s quite enough.” My voice is harsh, almost inaudible, as I fight to remain in control. Pulling the flash drive from my pocket, I hold it up in the air between us, noting the wobble in her stance and the blood dripping onto the concrete floor beneath her. A head wound, most likely, and probably draining fast.
