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We pull into the warehouse as it starts to rain. Scotty laughs, shaking his head.
“What?” I ask.
He leans over, unbuckling my seatbelt. “Nothing. It just always rains whenever a bad guy dies.”
“Yeah?” I ask, my nose crinkling with curiosity. “Is that a book thing?”
“No,” he says. “In the books, it’s the good guy who dies.”
I suck in a breath, our earlier conversation playing in our mind. “I didn’t mean it when I said you weren’t good. Earlier.”
“Yes you did, princess. But it’s okay. I know I’m not.” He steps out of the car and runs around the front to open my door before I can get out.
When it’s open, I climb out. I force a grin, despite the heaviness in my chest. I know that Vlad has to die. It doesn’t mean I’m okay with it. We do the things that are necessary to protect our family. I pulled the trigger on Tommy for betraying us. It’s time for the same to happen to Vlad.
“It won’t stop, will it?” I ask. “Anton will keep coming for us.”
Scotty shakes his head. “Jericho and Yuliya will take care of Anton. We won’t have to worry about it.”
I sigh, not liking the sinking feeling settling in. But I trust Scotty on this. I link my arm through his, then rest my head on his shoulder. “Gunshot to the head. Then we make Finn clean it up.”
Scotty’s body shakes with his laughter. “You’re an evil woman, Saoirse. Haven’t you tortured my poor cousin enough?”
“He’s rude to Haley.”
“He is not.”
While technically true, Haley has complained that he refuses to speak to her when he’s on guard. But she can be a bit much for anyone, so I shouldn’t hold that against him.
“Fine. He’s rude to me,” I say.
“How is he rude to you?” Scotty asks as we walk past two guards manning the entrance. He pulls on the door.
I shake my head, not wanting to tell Scotty about what Finn said to me before the attack. How, if he hadn’t been interrupted he was going to pull the ‘hurt him and I’ll kill you’ speech. Finn was just being protective of his blood. That’s all it was. Still, it rubbed me the wrong way. Finn has no idea what type of relationship I have with Scotty, and it’s not his business.
“Nothing,” I say. “Let’s get this over with.”
Scotty takes me downstairs into the basement, and my blood turns to ice at the sight and smell. Urine mixed with blood. God, it’s horrible, and so inhumane. I force down the need to vomit, making eye contact with a naked Vladmir. He’s strung up, forced to stand. His head droops, his eyes are closed, and he’s covered in blood and dirt.
“Hello, Vlad,” I say.
He doesn’t wake, doesn’t make a sound or move.
Scotty lets go of my arm, and heads for the tied up man. He pulls out his gun, then jabs at Vlad’s chest with the end of it. He mumbles something in Russian, and it causes Vlad to stir.
His head lifts, and he makes eye contact with me. Brown eyes that still haunt my nightmares. He took me. He hurt me. More than just the hair pulling. He sent men to my home, had Hugh betray me. I can still feel the clutch of his hands around my throat as I fought him in the bathtub. I was drugged and beaten. Imurderedsomeone.
My entire body begins to shake. Still, I step forward, never breaking eye contact.
“Sasha,” he groans.
“It’s Saoirse,” I snap, my fist slamming into his nose.
Pain splinters through my knuckles and up my wrist. I did more damage to myself than to him. Whatever, it felt good. I think for a moment. Usually there’s something climactic to say. But I have nothing. I just want to push this moment past me, and never think of this man again.
I turn to Scotty, who’s watching me, a smile on his face. He reads me, his eyes closing as he dips his head. “I’ll finish up, princess. Go wait in the car.”
I shake my head. “No.” I turn, walking toward the stairs and sit on the bottom one. Then I bring my feet up, buckling my knees to my chest. Closing my eyes, and plugging my ears, I nod. “Do it.”
