“Kill me, Lilith. Do it, but you will not be walking out of here alive either. In fact,” he slowly lowers himself onto the bench seat that overlooks the ocean, “only one person is guaranteed to do that, and that’s because I made sure of it.”
“What the fuck are you talking about now?”
“Have you wondered why I haven’t called any of the soldiers up?”
My eyes fly to the monitors behind his desk, but I don’t look long with the fear that he’ll take any chance he can to get me distracted. “Because they’re too busy tormenting The Dolls?”
Kij keeps his eyes on me. “Wrong. Because Kiznitch have arrived, and they’ve successfully captured and/or wiped everyone out.”
I freeze. Shit. I’m so fucking dead. He must read the expression on my face because a sadistic smile creeps onto his mouth. “I’m going to be even more bold and say that you’re not going to kill me, and they’re not either.”
I cock both guns and point them at his chest. Wriggling my brows, I nudge my head. “Sure about that? Gotta say, you should know I’m not the kind of person you should ever make assumptions about, Kij. I’ve got a lot of pent-up anger and frustration.” I lean forward, crossing my legs. “I will kill you today.”
“—no.” My body turns frigid. “—you won’t.”
Kij leans back against the wall, a carefree look spread over his face.
I shoot up from the chair in under one second, spinning and aiming both guns right into Kyrin’s chest. “Fuck you.”
Shit. His eyes are mine, unbothered. Dark obsidian spheres that mirror right back into my soul. My chest feels weighted, my stomach squeezed tight. I’m pretty sure sweat is sliding down my sternum as he towers over me in dark jeans and a hoodie beneath his leather jacket, blood splatters over his face. There are others around him, but I can’t. I can’t take my eyes off his, no matter how hard it is to breathe. No matter how tight his figurative fist is around my throat. “Later. For now, take the fucking gats off me before I tie you up, gag you, and fuck you with one.”
“Never!” I yell, shoving the tips into his chest. “You can’t stop me from killing him.” I lean farther into his space, even though it fucking pains me to do it. “You don’t know what he has done to me.”
Kyrin keeps his eyes on me. “Pretty sure I do, or I have an idea.” I don’t realize he is lowering my guns until they are to the side of my body.
Kij starts laughing. “I told you, I have—” I notice the exact moment Kyrin knows he fucked up. Unfortunately, it’s a second after I have squeezed the trigger, all while keeping my eyes planted on Kyrin’s face with a smile. Pop!
“No!” someone behind us gasps, and it’s not until I finally peek around Kyrin’s shoulder that I realize it’s Eli.
“E?” My arm falls to the side of my body. “What are you doing here?”
Eli turns to face me. “Lilith…” He shakes his head, his hands buried in his hair. “Fuck!” He punches a wall and walks out of the room, shoving past King and Killian.
I find myself looking back up at Kyrin, who is now glaring down at me with his lip curled. “Lilith, you—I swear to fucking God.”
“Can someone tell me what the fuck is happening, and why me killing the person who single-handedly ruined my entire life—among others—is such a fucking disappointment to you all? Hmmm?”
“Because…” Eli whispers from somewhere in the room that I can’t see, because Kyrin is still towering over me. Or hovering. He finally steps aside a little so I can see Eli. Hazel eyes come to mine. Eli’s beautiful face so haunted and lost. Like a lost boy in a maze and not knowing which way is out. “—he was the only one who knew.”
“Who knew what?”
King clears his throat. “Maybe we should have this conversation after we get the fuck out of here and blow this bitch up.”
“Why was he so sure that he and Cartier would walk out of here alive?”
Kyrin’s fingers are on my chin, forcing my eyes to his. “He knew because Cartier is his daughter, Lilith. My mom told us everything. He had planned this for a long fucking time. He knew she would be untouchable because she’s my sister—half Kiznitch, half Patience, so when we came, we wouldn’t kill her. She would take over Patience after he would have brainwashed her, he had hoped.”
“Fuck you!” Cartier spits on the ground. “I am Kiznitch as fuck.”
Keaton wraps his arm around her shoulder, but she shoves him away.
“I figured that,” I murmur, finally allowing myself to take in the gory sight of his forehead partially split in half. I have good aim. I know that. “When he told me he had a child who would have one percent over on what I would own, I figured that’s why he got Cartier.” I don’t realize Kyrin’s fingers are still on my chin.