Dynasty (Boys of Winter 1)

“What? What has that got to do with anything?”

“Look,” Carver says, getting to his feet. “We’re not here to tell you what you can and cannot do. If you want to go and put yourself in harm’s way to prove some kind of point, then that’s your business, but we’re also not going to stand back and let Sam get to you again.”

“Sam?” I question, keeping my stare on Carver as it seems that he’s the only one willing to give me the answers I’m looking for.

“You made it clear to Cruz this morning that you made a scene with Kurt and Irene when you went back there, and you’ve got to be a fucking moron if you don’t think that they’re not going to try the same shit on you again. They got away with it once and cleaned up from it. What’s to stop them trying again?”

I let out a heavy sigh and drop to the coffee table, being careful not to flash the guys in the process. “You really think that they’ll try it again? I thought it might have been a possibility, but … I don’t know, I guess I might have thought that I was in the clear.”

King shakes his head. “Sorry babe, Sam got five million out of you. One call from Kurt saying that you made it back to him and he’ll be all over you. Sam’s girls don’t make a habit of getting away. He’ll want to keep you quiet, and to do that, he’ll either try to sell you for another five mil, or he’ll put a bullet through your head. We’re not playing games here. You’re not safe, and until we know that you are, your ass isn’t stepping out of our sight. It’s as simple as that.”

The heaviness of the situation begins to come down on my shoulders, and I glance up at Cruz, for some reason picking him to take my anger out on. “Why the hell didn’t you explain that to me this morning? I never would have gone back there if I knew it would bring Sam back to my doorstep. FUCK.” My face falls into my hands and I try to focus on taking slow, deep breaths. “You guys shouldn’t have let me go. You should have stopped me. I was just trying to be a stubborn bitch and prove that you guys couldn’t boss me around.”

Cruz slips off the couch and falls to his knees in front of me, his hands resting against my knees. “You’re alright, Winter. We’re not about to let that shit happen to you again, we’ve got this, but at the same time, we’re not about to keep you as a prisoner. You’re free to live your life, and I think I can speak for all of us here, but we don’t want you feeling trapped or being scared that the world is going to cave in on you every time you leave the house.”

I raise my head and meet Cruz’s stare, feeling like I could break at any moment. He scoops me off the coffee table and takes me back to the couch where he settles me onto his lap, but I find myself looking up at Carver, the problem solver of the bunch. “What do I do?”

He flicks his gaze round to the other guys before coming back to mine with something sinister deep within his stare. “You have to make sure that Kurt doesn’t get around to making that call.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that?”

Carver just stares as the others fall into a strained silence, the answer lingering in the air between us.

I have to kill him. It’s as simple as that.

It’s either my life or his.

CHAPTER 22

I stare at the ceiling of the darkened room, my heart racing with what I have to do. If I was to ask the boys, they’d do it without hesitation, but this is my mess. I have to get myself out of it. I know the boys have been there every step of the way, but I need to be able to rely on myself, even if it means making a hard call.

It’s his life … or mine.

Do I have what it takes? I don’t know.

I would like to think that I do, but when it comes down to it, will I be able to end someone else’s life?

I have no doubt that Kurt is going to call Sam because he’s a greedy motherfucker and he’s going to do whatever it takes to get another bottle of whisky in his hands. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Irene was in on it too.

What if I’m wrong? What if I end his life but he had absolutely no plans on calling Sam? What would that make me? I’d have blood on my hands, and given that blood isn’t innocent, but it’s still blood. But then I’m taking the risk that he’s already called Sam and killing Kurt isn’t going to achieve anything but make me feel better about myself. It sure as hell would eliminate Kurt, but it won’t eliminate the threat.