Russo leans against the bar, studying me with curiosity. “You have balls for a chick your age,” he tells me. “But those balls will get you in trouble one day.”
I wave my hand around the Wolf Den. “Take a look around you,” I tell him. “My balls have already got me in trouble.”
Russo laughs, and the sound is chilling. “Fair point,” he tells me. “You want to know if my word is trustworthy, then now's your shot. I’ll make a deal with you.”
I narrow my gaze, not trusting him one bit. “What kind of deal?”
“I’m assuming that you’d like to go home at some point and attend school. Is that still the case?”
“More so than ever.”
“Alright. You tell me everything I need to know, and I’ll allow you to go home tonight.”
I watch him for a moment. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. You’ll be watched just as you were before, and you’ll be expected to abide by the terms you agreed to when you first walked into my Den. You are a Wolf, and that must always come first. So as long as you can live with that, then you’re free to come and go as you please.”
I slip off the barstool and quickly glance at Jaren, who nods, insisting that this is as good as it’s going to get. “And all I have to do is give you everything you want on Nic?”
“Correct.”
“Haven’t I already given you everything you needed on Friday?”
“Yes, you gave me everything I needed, but now there’s all the stuff that I want.”
Understanding dawns. He wants me to completely give him up. Tell him every little piece of information that I have on Nic so that when they take him down, he stays down. Nic will never be able to crawl his way back up after Russo is through with him, and as I think over everything that I’ve lost because of Dominic Garcia, I find myself holding out my hand.
Russo takes my hand with a firm grip and shakes it. “You have yourself a deal.”
Two hours later, I stand in Russo’s office, watching as he unlocks a desk drawer while feeling like a complete bitch. I told him everything he asked for; Nic’s birth date, his mother’s name, Nic’s address, his family pet as a kid. Every last thing was shared, and I feel completely sick about it, but in the end, Nic killed my father. He lied, he cheated, he tore me to shreds, and I hate that I’ve had to go against my morals to make this happen, but Nic needs to be stopped. Despite what Colton says, this is out of our league.
Colton thinks that fire is fought with fire, but in reality, all that’s going to do is make us burn. If you want to beat fire, you need water, and you need to drown the motherfucker until it can’t possibly ignite again.
Russo gets the drawer unlocked, and as he pulls it open, I find my phone, car keys, and everything he’d taken from me when I first walked in here. “If you run …” he warns, leaving his threat wide open as he takes my things from the drawer.
“I know,” I tell him, resisting rolling my eyes, but what can I say? 48-hours with no sleep tends to bring out my inner bitch. “Your guys are watching me.”
He nods and hands over my things. “Keep your phone on you,” he tells me in that same warning tone. “I’ll be checking in on you.”
I nod, and he finally hands over my freedom, and without a backward glance, I all but run from his office.
I keep Scarface’s gun in my hand and barge through the throng of Wolves, knowing that what I did here really sucked, while also knowing that in the end, Nic is going to get what’s coming for him. He has too many contacts within the justice system, and this was my last option. I’m not going to pretend that I know what Russo is going to do, but I know that it will make up for his crimes. Whatever happens to him now, it’s in Russo’s hands. I just have to hope that Nic doesn’t come for me in the meantime.
I beeline for the front door but keep my eyes on Jaren, giving him a nod as I pass. I don’t feel like we’re friends, but I also don’t feel like we hate each other. Allies? Maybe, but all that matters is that when I get out of here, and Christian comes back from his run tonight, I trust that Jaren will let him know what’s been going on.
I don’t know why I feel that connection to Christian, but I feel like I’ve somehow taken on the role of his new little sister. It’s almost like he’s using me to fill the void that Miss Davies left when she escaped this town, and for some reason unknown to me, I’m kinda happy about it.