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Alek breathes steadily while I look at him, ashamed of what I’ve done.
“Your need for vengeance has blinded you, brother. Now, what will you do?” Alek says to Saint.
“Shut up,” Saint growls, barely holding back.
“Time is ticking, Saint. Best you make a choice now, or we will make it for you,” Borya warns. No guessing what that will be.
“It’s okay. I deserve this,” I affirm, my fear subsiding. “I won’t allow them to use you this way.”
Saint spins to look at me, and the haunted look in his eyes has my resolve crumbling. “You don’t deserve this!” he cries, passionately. “You never did.”
Tears begin to well, and Saint shakes his head, saddened by the sight. However, when he begins to unbutton his shirt, that sadness turns to something else. Oscar’s howls are muted as we all watch Saint disrobe with utter fascination.
What I see strapped to his body soon has that fascination transforming to dread. “No.” I gasp, hand over mouth, shaking my head fiercely.
Alek’s eyes widen, as do Borya and Astra’s. “You didn’t really think I trusted you, did you?” Saint condescendingly asks both Borya and Astra as they back away, terrified. “I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I’ve learned from the best.”
Alek is the only one who stands his ground, not at all intimidated by the bomb strapped to Saint’s body. “There was always a plan B,” he mocks. “And that plan was you never leaving this house alive. Once I knew Willow was safe, you’d all get what you deserved.”
“Saint, no!” I rush forward, heart in my throat as I desperately look for a way to dismantle the wires. But I’m no bomb expert. And this is foolproof.Thiswas his plan all along.
He would never sacrifice Sara or allow these monsters to live. He is ending it here, now. Putting an end to this reign for good.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I chastise, feeling foolish for not seeing this sooner.
“Forgive me, but I had to do it this way,” he replies forlornly. “A????, go. Now.”
“What?” I blink back my tears. “No, I’m not leaving you! I’m staying here with you.”
With frantic fingers, I try to unfasten the straps around his body, but he pushes me away. “Go, now! Do what I tell you.”
“I-I won’t!” I yell, on the verge of hysteria. “No! It c-can’t end this wa-way.”
“It must, and it will,” he exclaims, reaching out to brush the tears from my cheek. “Do you think I want to do this? But what choice do I have?”
“You can leave here now, with me,” I reason with force, refusing to backdown, but it’s useless.
“I wish it was different, and I tried. I really did. I made a pact with the devil, but it still wasn’t enough,” he says, and he did. He tried to put a different plan into motion to ensure my safety and end in Alek’s death. His freedom would be stripped from him, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
But they’ve double crossed him, which, judging by the bomb strapped to his body, he suspected would happen all along.
“I knew it wouldn’t be enough,” he continues, begging I understand why he’s doing this. “Which is why I had to come prepared for every possible scenario. I thought for once, luck would be on our side. I thought wrong.”
A sob leaves me.
“I wish there was a way for both of us to leave here, but as long as I’m alive, they will hunt me and the people I…love. If I’m not with them, they assume I’m against them. They will never let me go.”
Astra only confirms what I know to be true. “He’s right. There isn’t an out for him. He knows too much. He will never be free from us, but more importantly, he will never be free of the sins of the past.”
Saint lowers his eyes, ashamed for all he’s done.
“He can kill us all, but our allies will ensure he pays. The reason we agreed to his terms is because we need him. That’s why he’s still alive. But we don’t need you. And the moment you step out of here, alone, you’ll be hunted. Without our protection, you’ll never leave this country alive.”
Saint clenches his jaw because Astra’s tale is my reality, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do. Or, maybe there is.
“Shoot them!” I cry. Saint is fast. He could disarm Borya and steal his gun without breaking a sweat. “Shoot them all.” And by all, I mean Alek also. No matter what he’s done, and the small glimmers of goodness he has shown me, he will always be the man who kidnapped me. And it’s time he paid his dues.
Saint’s sigh is heavy, alerting me to the fact that if he could have done so, he would have already. But it’s not that easy. “And then what?” he questions softly. “Someone will always be ready to take over. By blowing up this place, I’ll take out as many of those motherfuckers as I can. And…I can try and make amends for the damage I’ve done.”
