“You need more lessons with Diego and a gun. I’ve taught you everything I know, but he can take you to the next level.”
“For what?” I ask as I push off his chest and stand, Malik following me to his feet. “I don’t need to know how to snipe anyone, it’s not my specialty. I only need to know how to kill someone on the fly and to protect myself from a bullet. He’s done that.”
“If that’s where you want your training to end, I won’t disagree. You’ve already exceeded every one of my expectations. You’re a fucking machine and I’m so fucking proud.”
“I’m ready for what comes next, Malik,” I whisper. “I want my revenge, I want to avenge my father.” I press my hand to my chest as I take in a shaky breath. “Even if it means I lose my life in the process.” I watch as he registers my words, his face slowly changing.
“What?” His spine straightens as the easy smile falls off his lips. “Don’t say shit like that.”
“It’s true.” I stare at him, one hand on my chest and the other pressed to the butterflies circling my stomach. “I fight for my life, knowing I will one day end my brother’s. That's all I want.”
“But that was before me, before Montez.” I watch as his eyes grow dull and his mouth turns down. His shoulders slump under the weight of what must be his perception of my rejection.
“Itwasbefore you two,” I tell him as I step into his warmth and twist my fists into the material of his shirt. “But it doesn’t change my end goals. If I make it out the other end alive, then I will spend the rest of my days in blissful serenity with you both.”
“I’ve given you something I once had broken, ripped to shreds, and I barely made it out of that alive. Inside”—he beats his fist to his chest—“I still battle the wrath that wishes to consume me whole. The wild beast I wrangled into submission. If you break it again, I will never recover.” This is where he tells me he loves me and professes his undying devotion, but instead of being an excited girl, I want to melt into a puddle and fucking disappear. He must see the look on my face because his calloused fingers graze my cheek, their rough surface a stark contrast to my soft skin. “Not that,” he says with a sad smile. “I lost my heart many years ago, it was the first victim. I meant my trust.”
I want to rip open his skin and crawl inside of him, just to confirm his heart isn’t as black as he’s always telling me. I know it isn’t, but someone has made a fucking mess of the love he handed them.
“Was it one of them?” I snap, wiping a hand under my nose. “One of your three fucking exes?”
His arms wind around my back as his mouth presses to the corner of mine, his lips tipping upward in what I would assume is the sexiest of grins. “Long before that, Slayer.” I want to press him to tell me more because I can sense Malik has trauma that closely matches my own, and I would give anything to know who else I need to add to my ever-growing list of people who need to die. He and Diego saved me and I plan on doing the same for them one day. They’re my family now. “Never repeat what you’ve said here today.” He leans back and grips my chin in his hand, forcing me to meet his dark chocolate eyes. “You don’t go into battle thinking death is an option. That makes you weak and too accepting of an outcome that isn’t the one you planned for. You’re going to walk into that battle with your body aflame in fire and your intentions clear. Kneel or lose your fucking heads.”
“I want Jaeger dead, whether he kneels or not,” I snarl and pull away from Malik.
“When the time comes and you’re looking into his eyes and he knows he’s on the cusp of death, you may change your mind. Maybe kneeling will be enough, and Montez and I will understand and support whatever decision you make.”
“You’re speaking from experience,” I whisper as my eyes flick between his. “You shot your brother in the face but you knew it wouldn’t kill him, didn’t you?”
“If I wanted him dead, he would be.” Malik nods as he scrapes his vibrant pink nails along my collarbone. “My intentions changed when I looked him in the eyes.”
“Why did you save him?” I ask, my voice hoarse with emotion.
“Because I knew killing him would kill a part of me, and I care about me more than I do him.” His answer is honest, I can see the truth ringing clear in his eyes.
“Why do you hate Laith?” I run my matching pink nails down over his chest. “He’s a good man. He’s a lot like you—”
“Don’t say it,” he grits out as his fingers grab my cheeks, forcing my mouth to pucker. “He and I are nothing alike.”
I nod because I may think I know these men, and I do in ways no other does, but that doesn’t mean I understand them completely. His fingers continue to press into my cheeks and I count to three before I retaliate.
My fist smashes into his temple, causing him to grunt with the impact and stumble backward with a curse. When he regains his footing, he gives me a look of pride, his eyes telling me I’ve passed yet another test, but what I don’t tell him is how close his actions mirrored my brother’s so long ago, and my retaliation was reined in before I could cause further damage.
We all have our secrets to bear.
“Corned beef and iced tea?” he asks, his brows wagging with suggestion and a wide smile on his face.
“I’m getting so sick of them,” I growl out as I tip my head back. “When can we just get to the end of this plan?”
“My bloodthirsty Slayer,” he coos. “Have patience. The reward will be worth it.”
He grabs a hand towel off the table and tosses it at me as he wipes down his own face. I’m frustrated because I thought I would’ve had my revenge by now, but I also assumed I would die right after. I know this way is the smartest, that conditioning my enemies to see only what I want them to means I could survive this and come out the other side in one piece.
We step out into the Arizona sun, the rays hitting my face with a wave of heat, scorching my irises in the process. Malik swings me around to kiss me deeply on the mouth, hauling a moan from deep in my chest.
“He’s here,” he says against my lips. “I told you this is working. Soon, you will do this routine on your own. Just like you wanted.”
“I need to head into the Hell’s March club to face your President.” I pull away from him and head for my bike, not looking around me once.
