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Forcing that image out of my head, I slam the emotionless mask back onto my features and instead demand, “Tell me more about Derek and Sebastian.”
She shares her own assessment of their skills in different areas, but apart from that, there isn’t much more that she can tell me. They’re ghosts. Just like her. So they have no family or friends or anything that can be used against them. And since the Hands of Peace moved and changed their protocols after she left, she doesn’t know their location either.
When she’s done, she just sits there on her knees, looking up at me.
It makes dread curl around my spine. Because this is it. Isabella and I are officially done. I have asked all my questions now. And she has given me all the answers that I have been waiting six years for.
I almost want to ask another question, something entirely meaningless, just so that I can drag this out a little longer. Because this is the last time that I will ever look into those beautiful eyes. The last time that I will ever talk to this dangerous and incredible and complicated woman whose loneliness and determination calls to mine.
“I should kill you for the part you played in my parents’ death,” I say, my voice coming out so flat and emotionless that it shocks even me.
Isabella just kneels there before me, holding my gaze. She doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t try to protest that she isn’t the one who killed my parents. Doesn’t try to remind me that she was the one who let me live. Doesn’t beg. All she does is to just meet my eyes with a steady gaze. A resigned gaze. The same one I must have given her six years ago.
Something fractures in my heart when I look at her like that. Something big. And it takes all of my willpower to keep myself from flinching at the pain that floods my chest after that massive break.
“But you also spared my life.” I lower the gun from her head. “So, a life for a life.”
She blinks, looking genuinely stunned.
I don’t know whether I want to laugh or shake her in frustration. Did she actually believe that I was going to kill her?
It took everything I had, every ounce of skill that I have with lies and deception, to convince myself that I would kill her if she refused to answer my questions. Because she would be able to tell if I wasn’t serious. So I had to make myself believe the lie. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever accomplished, because I knew deep in my heart, that I would never follow through on it. I would never have killed her. But I had to make her believe that I would, which means that I had to make myself believe it too.
Apparently, she’s not the only master liar here.
“You’re letting me live?” she asks, her tone guarded.
“Yes.” Still keeping my eyes locked on hers, I signal to Eli, Kaden, and Jace to stand down. “Grab your stuff and get as far away from here as possible. We’re even now.”
She glances at the trees around us, as if checking whether she’s about to be shot by a sniper rifle regardless of what I just said. Then she slowly climbs to her feet. Her gaze darts down to her chest, but no red dots appear. After that, she shifts her attention to the gun that I still hold in my hand. I keep it pointed down at the ground beside me.
At last, her eyes meet mine again.
For a few seconds, everything is completely silent and still.
Isabella opens her mouth.
My heart jerks as I wait to hear what she’s going to say.
Hesitation blows across her face. Giving her head a quick shake, she snaps her mouth shut again.
Disappointment floods my chest. But I say nothing as she slowly starts backing away in the direction that she came from. I simply watch her.
When she reaches the tree line, she pauses. And yet again, I get the feeling that she’s about to say something. But then she just turns around and sprints away.
I stand there in the middle of the clearing, staring at the spot where she was last visible, and feeling completely drained. If someone were to poke at me with a stick right now, I’m pretty sure I would just crumple to the ground.
Figures move at the corner of my eye.
I just keep my eyes on the spot where Isabella disappeared while Eli, Kaden, and Jace approach me from all three sides. Once they reach me, I at last force myself to tear my gaze from the tree line and focus on them.
All three of them still keep a sniper rifle in their hands, courtesy of Eli, but the weapons are now angled down towards the ground. I sweep my gaze over them, feeling like I should thank them for helping me do this. But I can’t seem to find the words.
As if he can read all of that on my face, Eli just reaches out and places one hand on my shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. On his other side, Jace and Kaden give me a nod as well, acknowledging the words I can’t speak right now.
My throat closes up. Because I fucking love these three unhinged psychos who will always be my brothers in every way that matters.
“You let her go,” Eli says at last.
