From there, several things happen at once. Gunfire breaks out from above, the booming echoes of it deafening. Clyde draws out a gun and points it at my head, just as Dorian draws out his own weapon and points it at Clyde.
Every man in the room leaps to his feet and grabs his weapon. Total fucking chaos ensues.
Footsteps sound coming down the stairs just before Seamus and Asher make an appearance. I knock the gun from Clyde’s hand with a swift, sharp jab, sending it flying to the ground. He backhands me in the cheek so hard I’m sent stumbling backwards, pain exploding across my jaw. Dorian fires off a shot just as one of Clyde’s men crashes into him from behind, fouling his aim.
Everything that happens after that is a blur. Clyde grunts and his leg buckles. He manages to get a hand around my throat and take me to the ground, pinning me beneath him. Before he can get a good enough grip to crush my windpipe, I knee him in the balls, making him release me with a high-pitched cry. I swipe the knife hidden in my boot and take a second to glance around, taking stock of this clusterfuck.
Bullets fly above us, some burying into the cement walls, some ricocheting, others piercing through the barrels and spilling the liquors hidden inside. I glimpse Dorian grappling with two of Carver’s men.
Clyde doesn’t take long to recover and leap on top of me again, but this time, I’m ready for him. I let him get his hand around my throat again. I look him dead in the eyes, and spit on his face once again. He jerks back, yelling an obscenity at me, and I take his moment ofdistraction to grip his wrist and slice through the vulnerable underside of it.
This time, Clyderoars.
Blood spurts from his hand, staining my face and neck. I lunge forward and bury the knife so deep in the base of his throat, the blade disappears into his skin.
A single trickle of blood runs from the wound. Clyde’s eyes meet mine, widened with shock and brightened with fear.
He attempts to reach his injured hand up to his neck. Fails. Opens his mouth to say something, only for a gurgle of blood to rush from his lips, trapping his words.
The gunfire around us is dying down; Carver’s men are dropping like flies. I can take a beat to enjoy this moment, revel in it. Bathe in the way I’ve flipped the tables on Clyde.
Once, I was the vulnerable little girl who gazed at him with fear, hoping that he’d change overnight into a better man. Into a decent stepfather. I hoped he’d leave his abusive ways behind.
Now, he’s turned into the helpless child, incapable of caring for himself or keeping himself alive. I leave the blade in his neck, not ready for him to die quite yet. Spotting the gun he dropped a few feet to the left of me, I pick it up.
A single push to Clyde’s chest sends him to the ground. His entire body shakes with pain and lack of oxygen. I crouch over him, pressing the barrel of the gun to his forehead, letting himseethe vengeance in my eyes.
“I don’t like the act of killing,” I say softly, “but killingyouis an exception. This is for all the times you hurt me.” I swiftly reposition the gun, firing off a shot into his gut. He releases a gurgle that pours more blood from his lips, eyes wide, body seizing. I return the gunto his forehead, pressing it right between his eyes. “And this is for my mother.”
I pull the trigger.
Chapter Forty-One
“That was absolutelywonderful, love,” Seamus praises me, a goofy smile stuck on his face. We’re cleaning up at Asher’s range, already having taken turns in his shower to get the blood off ourselves and change clothes. We brought extras with us when we met here earlier today, in anticipation of having to switch outfits.
Dorian’s in the vault, helping Asher clean our borrowed weapons and properly store them. Connor’s also on cleanup duty, getting rid of our sullied clothes in Asher’s fireplace. Sergei’s crew is cleaning the mess in the brewery and gathering information on all of Carver’s operations. Sergei will take over the drug op and dismantle the prostitution ring.
We said our goodbyes to him and his men before leaving.
“You spit in his facetwice,” Seamus says, “stabbed him in the neck, and shot him. Again,twice. If you ever want to join us on ops, I would bemostglad to have you.”
“That’ll happen when hell freezes over,” Dorian says smoothly, strolling into the room. He makes a beeline toward me, wrapping his arms around me from behind and pressing a kiss to the crown of my head. “How are you, baby?”
“Better than I’ve been in a long while,” I sigh. “Killing Clyde was cathartic. I feel like my mother can rest in peace now.”
“I only wish I could tell Valerie about what a badass you are,” Seamus says, still locked on the way I ended Clyde’s life. “She’d eat that right up. Alas, we don’t do much talking, and even if we did—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I say, holding up a hand. “What you do with her is your business, I don’t require details.” I’ve already warned him that I think his involvement with Valerie is a setup for failure, but what he does is none of my concern.
Seamus sighs. “Fair enough, love. Wouldn’t want to blister your innocent ears.”
“Innocent?” Dorian repeats dubiously.
Seamus tilts his head from side to side. “Yeah, fair point. I’ve heard the screams late at night—I expect the two of you get up to an exotic array of bed-sport.”
“We do,” Dorian agrees. “Now, don’t you have something better to be doing? You don’t need to spend more time with Mira than necessary.”
Seamus holds up his hands in a mock gesture of acquiescence. “Very well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it.”
