The sound of Mila retching fills the silence, and my own throat burns with the need to throw up, but I force it down.
Mila returns a minute later, her face white as a sheet, and her cheeks wet with tears. She looks like she’s about to pass out. “Oh, my God. T-they killed him for information.”
I nod slowly, my mind completely numb from what I just witnessed.
She slides to the floor. “They wanted access to Ronan’s accounts. That’s why they came. That’s why they killed Max.”
A sob escapes my throat before I can stop it. “This is my fault. I’m the one who brought Max into this. I asked him to help me understand Ronan’s financial system. I never thought… I never imagined?—”
“It’s not your fault,” Mila says, but her voice breaks despite herself, and that sets off my own tears.
The guilt is too much. I feel as if someone has reached inside me and ripped out my organs one by one.
How am I ever meant to get over this? How is Mila ever going to forgive me?
I’m the one who forced Max to help me because I was too stubborn to let Ronan handle the encrypted payments, and it cost Max his life.
I don’t deserve Mila’s forgiveness.
Eventually, Mila pushes herself off the floor and wipes her cheeks on her sleeves. She’s trembling from head to toe, and her legs look like they could buckle at any moment.
She clutches a hand to her throat. “I have to go. I-I need air. I can’tbreathe.”
I reach for her. “Mila, wait. You’re in no state to drive.”
She turns to me with sheer determination in her eyes. “Whoever sent those men, we’re going to make them fuckingpay.”
All I can do is nod.
Mila’s lower lip trembles as she glances down at the laptop, which I hastily close.
She shakes her head. “I think this is as much as I can do today. It’s… a lot to process.”
“We don’t need to do anything you don’t want to do, Mila. If it’s too much, we can leave this with Rona?—”
“No. I want to do this for Max.” She exhales slowly, and I can tell it’s taking a lot for her to keep her composure.
I’m not sure how she’s still standing. If I had just witnessed someone shooting Callum, I would likely need to be put in a straitjacket.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” It seems like such a ridiculously normal thing to suggest considering what we just watched, but I don’t really know what else to say.
But Mila simply shakes her head before wiping at her eyes. “I think I just want to go home.”
“Of course. I’ll walk you out.” I go to pick up the laptop to give it to her, but Mila holds her hands up as if I’m about to hand her a live grenade.
“No. You keep it.”
I don’t protest, though I will have to find somewhere to hide the laptop from Ronan because I can’t risk him learning of our plan just yet. Not until I have more information.
Once Mila is safely in her car, I close the front door to head back upstairs when Stephen appears from the kitchen.
I clutch a hand to my chest. “Christ, you scared me.”
He frowns at me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”
Stephen’s eyebrows shoot up, and I try not to flinch under his intense gaze.
