“His father did dealings with my father,” he pants, sweat dripping down his forehead. His eyes are beginning to flutter slightly as the blood loss sets in. “I started working with Elias a few years ago when I first started up. He had a man that funded my entire operation.”
Now that piques my interest.
“What man?”
“I don’t know,” he grimaces. “Some older guy with a cane. Odd accent. Not quite foreign but not quite American either.”
“Name.” I demand harshly.
“I don’t know!” He wails.
“Okay,” my mouth shrugs as I process what other information he might have. Nothing comes to mind. I pull the trigger without a second thought, Drew’s head exploding over the weeping Sheila who is kneeling behind him. “Then I guess you’re of no further use to me.”
I lower my gun arm, letting it settle at my side. Sheila weeps, her bottled blonde hair a rat’s nest, her makeup sliding down her face like a clown who has been out in the heat. I expect to feel even a pinch of remorse at having just killed a man, but it isn’t there. Rather, there is this widespread apathy that settles beneath my skin and calms the churning fire.
“You fucking whore!” The weeping hag finally speaks, breaking out of the fear she imprisons herself in.
“I’d be careful who you call a whore,” I taunt. “Who sleeps with their best friend’s fiancé?”
Sophia scoffs. “Please.” Her lips turn up in an ugly sneer, her face twisting darkly. “She never had him. We’d had this planned for years with that bitch, Sarah. Sell her and split the profit. Of course that stupid slut had to go and?—”
Well, that is enough of that.The words of the viper begin to bore me and now she is dead silent. Literally. Her blood and brain matter join that of the snake of a man she has between her dirty thighs.
A match made in hell. Now they will rot there.
“Well, that wasn’t part of the plan,” Leon sighs, holstering his gun. “Now there are two bodies to clean up.”
“Why are you complaining?” Vas quips as he too holsters his weapon. “It’s not like you’re the one cleaning it up.”
“True.”
“Still,” Maksim hedges. He is the only one besides myself, who hasn’t put his gun away. “We don’t normally kill women.”
“Eh,” Vas shrugs. “Can’t say she didn’t have it coming.”
“But…” Maksim pushes. His shoulders are stiff, jaw clenched tightly enough that I can see the muscles in his throat tightening. He doesn’t like what I did.
“She wasn’t an innocent, Maksim,” I remind him sternly. “Do you really believe that if we let her live, she would have just run and hide? No, she would have talked to anyone who would listen. She wasn’t some pawn or coerced. That viper was an active, willing participant to kidnapping and selling a girl she duped into being her best friend.”
Maksim huffs as he stows his weapon before he crosses his arms against his chest.
“You aren’t judge, jury, and executioner, Ava,” he growls. I lift my head to meet his thunderous gaze. Had he so patiently told this to Matthias too? Been this forward? I know they were close, and I have no intention of ruling like Elias did. Through fear. And now, in the comfort of our circle, he can vent his frustrations, but something about it is off. It feels more like he is blustering.
Blowing hot air.
“Listen to me, Maksim,” I warn him, stepping into his space, my eyes never leaving his. “I don’t expect you to agree with all my decisions. I’d be worried if you did. But let’s get one thing straight. I am the judge, jury, and executioner here, make no mistake in that. Now, I understand we don’t go around killing women and children and I plan to one hundred percent uphold that.
“Unless you come after my family. And then all bets are off. Feel free to air your concerns or file a grievance, but anyone who maliciously and purposefully raises a hand against me or mine, will suffer the consequences regardless of gender. Understood?”
The three men smirk, eyes shining as they look down at me.
“Understood,” they all confirm, laughter in their voices.
Fuckers have been testing me.
“Same go for your sister?” Vas asks after a moment.
I let my gaze slide to his, the warmth of his hazel eyes doing nothing to heat the frigidness in my own.
