Ryder gives a subtle signal to get ready. This will end one way; we aren’t backing down now.
“I’ll ask one more time,” Les says calmly. “Where’s Micah?”
“Dead.”
That one word drops to the floor like a weight. You can hear a fucking pin drop.
Please let him be lying. Please let him be lying,I repeat in my head over and over like a prayer, wishing with everything Viktor is still a lying piece of shit.
The roar of rage that leaves Les makes the hair on my arms stand on end. Two beats later, she starts unloading her clip.
Showtime.
We step into line with her, following suit. Ghost and his crew do the same. Bodies start hitting the floor, blood flying everywhere. I can’t even spare a second to see if Viktor is one of them. The sound is deafening in the room, then complete silence when the last guy hits the floor.
Les’ chest is heaving, her hands trembling.
“Boss,” Ghost says gruffly, and her head snaps to him. He walks forward with a very scared-looking Viktor, shoving him on his knees at Les’ feet.
“Bow to the Queen,” I quip because I can’t help myself.
Les lifts her boot and shoves him backward. As soon as he hitsthe floor, she walks up and places the heel of her boot on his jugular, pushing down. “Where. Is. He?”
“Dead,” Viktor repeats.
Les pushes harder. “WHERE IS HE?!”
Zane grabs her arm. “Wait.” She turns blazing blue eyes on him. “Listen.”
Viktor starts struggling against her. She puts all her weight on her foot, cutting him off with a gurgle. We all strain to listen and get ready to chalk it up that Zane officially lost his mind when it starts again. Banging.
Les’ head whips in that direction, then looks back down at Viktor. “Your time here is done.” She pulls a knife from the sheath on her pants that she always carries, twirling it around her fingers.
“I can tell you where Jay is.”
She pauses and tilts her head to the side. “I don’t give a fuck.” She rolls her shoulders back. “Marciume all’inferno,” she mutters her signature line, lifts her boot, and slices clean through Viktor’s throat.
We soak it in that Viktor is finally done. I glance up at Alexey and Dmitri because that’s still their dad and they look entirely unaffected. I understand how they feel. I was glad Connor was dead; he was never a father to me. That comes with guilt, though, that they’ll feel later.
Ryder touches Les’ arm gently to get her attention. She’s just staring at the blood rushing out of Viktor’s neck. “Let’s go get Micah.”
She lifts her head slowly like she’s in a trance. “He could have told me where Jay is.”
We all exchange a look. “He wouldn’t have ever told you, Pretty girl,” I say softly. I know we aren’t supposed to call her pet names in the field, but she needs it.
“He’s right,” Zane agrees. “Now, let’s go.”
She looks down one more time, then looks back up, her eyes clearing. She finally nods and follows Ryder toward where the noise was coming from.
“Micah!” Ryder bellows, then strains to listen. The banging starts again, and we rush to a door in the back through a set of doubledoors. It starts getting louder and louder until we stop in front of a door labeled boiler room.
Dex and Ryder nod to each other and jerk the door open. Micah is tied to a chair in the back, with tape over his mouth.
“Micah!” Les says, running over to him. She gently peels the tape from his mouth while Leo and I get to work untying his hands and legs. When I get to his hand, I see the blood on his knuckles where he was banging on the pipe behind him.
“Hey, shithead,” Micah says gruffly, making a watery laugh leave Les.
She hugs him tight once his arms are free before pulling back. “Are you okay?”
