“Watch it, Gavin,” Jayce warns.
“It’s fine, Jay,” I say.
His jaw bunches up, but he gives me a subtle nod regardless.
“You must think you’re above us all, don’t you?” Gavin remarks, then laughs. “You go around threatening and killing people; you’ve got your ass secured by elites, and loaded with money. You’ve fucking got it all, but that doesn’t, not even for a second, change who and what you are, Dorran Ledger.”
“Gavin, shut the fuck up,” Nicole says.
I glare at her, to which she squirms and shrinks into herself, then look at Gavin again. “And what exactlyamI?” I ask him.
“A monster,” he sneers at me.
I laugh, then rub the space under my chin. “That’s it? That’s the best you got? A monster? Gav, tell me something I don’t fucking know, man.” I arch a brow. “Don’t you people call me the Bloody Prince or some shit like that? Doesn’t beingthatcome with an obvious stamp of also being a…monster?” I laugh again, then shake my head.
His hands clench into fists as he seethes. “But that’s what you are, Dorran; what you’ll always be – a sadistic, uncaringmonster. I know you don’t care about it, but you should. And damn Cignette for choosing you over me, damn all those who think you’re someone to be feared. Because I’m not fucking scared of you; I pity you. I pity the life you lead, and the things you do in order to convince yourself that you’re superior to everything and everyone. I pity the morals you stand for, and the–” He stops, and his eyes widen in complete shock. A second later, he looks down, and when I do the same, I notice blood spreading steadily across his chest. From a bullet wound on his left pec.
Nicole screams, and the shots keep coming. Two more on his chest, followed by one on his right shoulder, one on his stomach, and another that pierces right through the center of his forehead. And, it’s only when Gavin drops dead on the floor, do I blink myself out of my trance and turn to Varsha, who looks like she’s in an entirely different zone.
She’s about to pull the trigger again, but I wrap my fingers around the gun and stand in front of her.
“Varsha,stop,” I say, and when she doesn’t even look at me, I pull the gun away from her and hand it to Jayce. “Varsha.”
She meets my stare, and what I see in hers makes my stomach knot.
Hurt.
She wasn’t over Gavin having cheated on her, so she took it upon herself to give herself what she needed: a final salutation to the relationship they once had.
“He won’t get away with everything he just said to you, Ledge,” she tells me. “He’s going to have to pay.”
“He’sdead, Varsha,” I say, then frown. “He’s fucking gone.”
She continues to look at me, all the while breathing heavily, and then, her eyes glaze over. Her tears slip through before she can stop them, and my heart fucking aches at seeing her like this. She hasn’t shed a single tear since her breakup with Gavin – not until now, when she’s finally ended things for good. The wayshewanted them to end.
“Oh, Varsha.” My voice is constricted as I pull her to me and wrap my arms around her. “I’m so sorry, sis,” I whisper, then press a kiss on her forehead.
She fists my vest and holds onto me, and a moment later, Jayce and Alex join us. The latter runs a hand up and down Varsha’s back, while Jayce looks completely crestfallen.
A crunch-like sound gets my attention, making me look in its direction. Nicole – who was trying to get away while me and the crew were distracted – stops short, having accidentally stepped on one of the fallen items from earlier. She looks at us like a deer caught in headlights, and starts opening her mouth to say something, but I stop her.
“Going somewhere, Nicole?”
She’s flat-out shivering now, and I know it’s not because of the weather.
“I won’t tell anyone what happened here,” she provides. “I promise I won’t tell a soul. I’ll leave, and I swear you’ll never see me again.”
I disentangle myself from Varsha and walk over to her. “That’s the plan, isn’t it?” I say, then give her a wink.
A monster. That’s what you are…
Gavin’s words buzz in my ears, making me grin. I sniff and run a hand over my face, then focus on Nicole, who looks like she might faint if I so much as move a finger.
I sigh, give her a quick glance, then reach a hand out to Jayce. He offers Varsha’s gun to me, and when Nicole sees me holding it, she tries to make a run for it, but I grab her by the neck and push her back.
“No! Dorran, please…Please!” she begs as she struggles against me. “I won’t tell anyone.Please.”
I press the gun’s muzzle between her brows. “Look, I’m making it quick and easy for you, so just shut that bitch mouth of yours up and accept your fate. You’ve seen and heard more than you should’ve, which was supposed to be absolutelynothing. You’re not walking out of here alive, Nicole.”
