Vow to Protect

I shake my head. “Nothing you can tell me will compel me not to kill you tonight. Nothing at all.”

When his eyes narrow and his spine straightens, I watch him closely. He thinks he knows something that can give him some leverage. I almost want to know what it is. But not enough to free him and not enough to let him live. Once his blood seeps into the floor, my debt to Val will be paid, and she’ll be mine forever.

The thought bolsters me enough to send me scooting toward the bastard one more time. He flinches back and stammers out. “A little pussy isn’t enough reason to start a war. You know, killing me outside of the season is an act of war, not only against my family but also against the council. Everyone will be on your ass.”

I lean in and grab the back of his neck so I can whisper in his ear. “They’ll have to find your body to prove it first.”

Then I slide the knife into his fat stinking gut and enjoy the way he jerks in my grip.

I have blood seeping down my wrists and onto my shirt now, but I don’t care. It’ll prove it’s done. She’ll be able to see no one can take care of her like I can. No one can fucking give her what she needs like me.

He whimpers again, and I twist the knife, digging it in deeper. It won’t take him long to die, and I’m okay with it. Right now, all I can think about is getting back to my angel.

“She’s not worth it,” he grits out.

I release his neck and jerk my knife roughly from his gut. “You want those to be your last words? I’d pick something more interesting, but it’s up to you, I guess.”

He groans and leans over in the chair. The dumbass doesn’t even realize sitting that way will compress his wound and make him bleed out faster. “You have no idea what you’re doing. She’s a viper in your henhouse, and you don’t even know?”

As if my angel could ever do anything to betray me. He obviously doesn’t know a thing about her, and he never did.

It’s a comforting thought as I watch the puddle of blood grow between our feet. I’m not leaving this spot until his heart stops beating. Otherwise, I won’t be able to tell Val definitively he’s gone for good.

I shoot a text to Alexei and tell him to find Sal’s computer. If he has any more videos of Val on there, I want them all destroyed. Which reminds me.

I wipe my knife on his pants leg, cleaning it off, and then tuck it back into my boot.

Then I dig through his pants pocket to find his phone. This will need to be destroyed as well. No doubt he has some disgusting things on here.

“You are so fucked,” he whispers, the light slowly leaving his eyes.

I sit back and straighten my jacket. “Aren’t we all?”

He shakes his head, not even putting effort into it. Then with his last breath, he wheezes out, “She knows what happened to your mother.”

34

Valentina

I feel like an idiot, pacing back and forth in front of the elevators, my bare feet slapping on the time with every pass. Kai checked on me three times, and I waved him away. He’s been worse with his hovering since that text came in from Sal. I’ve already forgotten it in my worry over Adrian.

What if Sal hurts him? What if he doesn’t come back?

What if…

What if…

What if…

It’s all I can think about as I pace and watch the number screen on top of the elevator for movement. No one has come up since the team left. I keep my phone tucked tight in my hands; the ringer turned up as high as I can make it. Once Kai took the information he needed from it, he returned it almost reluctantly.

Would it kill someone to call me and let me know Adrian is alive? Better yet, that Adrian is alive, and Sal is not.

I’ve never considered myself a vengeful person, but I decided to make an exception with Sal. He deserves nothing less than pain and suffering for all he’s caused. And for all Adrian’s sins, he’s the perfect instrument to deliver the karma Sal earned all on his own.

A part of me wishes I were strong enough to be there for it, to watch. Even if the idea makes my fingers tingle with adrenaline, it also turns my stomach. Just being in the same room with him would make me puke.

I keep pacing, watching the number, waiting for it to move.

When the numbers begin moving, my pacing increases as I watch the screen. Each floor the screen eats up shoots a spike of fear through me. I’m not scared of Adrian. Even in the beginning, he’s been nothing but honest with me. His moments of brutality have always been tempered with that honesty. I’ve learned he does nothing without a reason, and it’s become a touchstone for me to understand what he might do next.