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He takes a deep breath. “Probably dropping off the ‘compensation’ thePakhanoffered you. Look, I know this is not what you want, but play along at least for now.”
I nod at Niko and, holding my head up, march right for Vadik’s office.
“Morning, Charleigh,” Vadik says when I enter.
The second says nothing, and I don’t even look at him.
“Morning, Vadik,” I answer.
I stand next to him while the two are chatting, a large briefcase on the desk between them, and my rage is back like a virulent disease, the kind that only fools you into believing it’s gone. It nibbles at my sensibilities like a hungry piranha, and I can feel myself losing my shit as creepy-crawlies make their way up my arms and then, because my brain isn’t working, my body takes over. I reach down and pull off one of my shoes and, raising it above my head, bring the stiletto heel right down on the back of the second’s hand, shattering bones and sinew and generally making a mess out of Vadik’s desk with blood spray.
The room is dead quiet for a millisecond while everyone, myself included, absorbs what I’ve done, and as thePakhan’s second comes out of his momentary shock, he hollers and screams at the bloody horror that is his impaled hand, my high-heeled shoe sticking out of it, and reaches for his gun with his good hand.
That’s when Vadik and Niko jump into action. I am grabbed around the waist from behind and in spite of my flailing, am dragged out of the room by Niko, while Vadik knocks the gun from the second.
And as I’m pulled down the hall, out of reach of the injured second and his deranged but understandable rage, I realize the voice I hear screaming, asking for a gun, no, begging for a gun, is my own, and I can’t turn the damn thing off.
* * *
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Vadik
“What in the ever-loving FUCK were you thinking?”
Charleigh looks small in the chair Niko pushed her into, and even smaller when she shrinks away from my brothers and me, all hovering over her trying to figure out just when she got so batshit crazy.
She looks from one of us to the next, without a word, because I’m pretty sure she has no goddamn answer.
“THIS is why we don’t give you a gun. You are out of control. You are not only going to get yourself killed, but also, very likely, us. Jesus Christ, Charleigh, you have got to be out of your mind,” I scream.
At the moment, I’m the one out of my mind, and it doesn’t feel good. We have enough goddamn shit going on around here without Charleigh losing it and stabbing someone’s hand with her high heel.
And it wasn’t just anyone’s hand she just shattered. She might not like thePakhan’ssecond—none of us do, for that matter—but she just brought a world of hurt down on all our heads. We are not pleased. Obviously, the second is not. And thePakhanwon’t be, either.
“As long as you operate out of emotion rather than logic, not only will you not get a gun, but you will also continue to make bad decisions, decisions that drive you further away from what you really want to accomplish.”
I pace the room, thinking through all the possible outcomes of Charleigh’s actions and they are so numerous and grim, I dare not tell her about them.
“Is this what you want, Charleigh? Do you have a death wish? Because it sure as hell looks like it,” I say, my face inches from hers.
Her eyes are wide with terror, as if she’s just as surprised by her actions as the rest of us, and while that may be true, it doesn’t change a thing.
Actions have consequences. Doesn’t she understand this?
“And what about your sister, Charleigh? The sister who is supposedly your absolute highest priority, your biggest commitment? Because I can tell you, you are doing neither yourself, nor her, any favors.”
Fuck.
I pace Niko’s office, where he dragged Charleigh after she went after the second. I have to admit, therewassatisfaction in seeing his agony, given that he’s a cold and heartless bastard, but he was here at the club for a legitimate reason, and attack was entirely inappropriate.
God, I’d like to cut her loose. I never thought I’d hear myself think that, but I am seriously starting to wonder if she’s worth all the trouble she brings.
“Well?” I yell. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“I… I don’t know what came over me,” she says weakly, shaking her head in disbelief.
“No shit,” I bark right back at her. “And that’s exactly the problem. You have no control. You can’t be trusted. And at some point, we guys won’t be able to protect you from yourself. You’ll find yourself dangling out there with no net, because we will have given up on your ass.”
