Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

The Wolves all glance around, unsure of letting Colton in on this shit, but with me in charge, they have no choice. I let my words sink in, giving them the information they need to know that Colton isn't here to play games, letting them know just how capable he is to screw them over if they were to mess with him.

A moment passes before Christian finally steps back, and Colton takes his place, looking back at me. “I don’t want you to watch this,” he tells me, meeting my eyes and knowing damn well that I’m going to be seeing this moment over and over again in my sleep until something equally as bad takes its place.

I shake my head. “Don’t worry about me,” I murmur. “I won’t look weak in front of these guys. No matter what the cost. Just do it.”

He watches me a second more before walking over to Vincent and stepping right in front of him, meeting his stare. “I trust that you remember exactly what I said that I was going to do to you.”

Vincent’s only response is to spit at his feet, and I raise a brow before stepping into Colton’s side. “Hey,” I snap, waiting just long enough for his eyes to flash up to mine before nailing the fucker right in the nose and listening to the satisfying crunch of his bones breaking beneath my fist. “That was for Maryne.”

Colton meets my eyes, and as I shake out my hand while trying my best not to curse out in pain, fire burns in his eyes. “Fuck, you’re hot when you take charge.”

I can’t help but grin despite the bleeding man making a mess of blood at my shoes. “Really, now? How’d you like me to take charge when we get home?”

“You’re fucking on, Jade,” he tells me before turning back to Christian. “Get him on his knees.” Christian doesn’t like it, but he does what he’s asked.

Everyone watches with wide eyes as Colton steps toward Vincent and presses the tip of the gun right against his spine. “Let’s hope this doesn’t kill you,” he says, bending down to murmur into his ear. “I’d love nothing more than to watch you spending the rest of your life as a vegetable, watching as I take every last thing from you.”

Vincent struggles against his binds, but with one devastating BANG, his body goes limp. The only sound echoing through the room are the chains as they dangle above his head, slowly coming to a stop.

Colton’s gaze sweeps to mine, checking that I’m not about to start freaking out, and I watch as he wipes his fingerprints off Christian’s gun and wordlessly hands it back to him. He never takes his eyes off mine. “You good?” he questions, walking around to me.

I nod before turning back to the Wolves and watching as one by one, they make their way out of the basement, leaving just me, Colton, Jaren, Christian, and Russo.

Jaren instantly starts working on releasing Vincent by pressing a button and letting his body drop heavily to the ground. Blood splatters around his fall, and I have to look away.

If anything, I should be looking at Colton to try to ease my mind, yet I find my stare digging into Russo’s as he looks back at me with that same consideration he was watching me with yesterday. “Why?” I ask. “Why put me in this position? Is this just some big joke or some kind of ‘fuck you’ to Colton?”

Russo glances at Colton at the mention of his name, and realizing that I'm not going to get any answers with him standing right here, Colton leans into me. “I’ll be waiting by the door if you need me.” I nod and watch as he walks away before focusing my stare back on Russo.

He looks around before coming back to me and letting out a heavy breath. “The truth is, Colton is going to destroy me whether or not I let you go. So, yeah, the fact that this grates on his every nerve is the fucking icing on the cake, but the real reason I put you at the top is because you’re the only one here who’s strong enough to handle it.”

I raise my brow. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

“Not at all,” he tells me. “Your boyfriend was going to start digging into my business whether I let you go or not, so long as I’m going down, why should I let you go, especially when you have so much potential? You’re a lot like your dad. Do you know that? He was a fucking stubborn asshole, but he was a leader, just like you.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m nothing like my father.”

“Believe what you want to believe, that’s your business, but I say it like I see it, and I’m never wrong,” he says, getting back on track. “I give Carrington two months tops before he has the FBI knocking on my door, and dragging me away in chains. I need to be prepared for when that happens.”