“Give me your gun,” I demand, and he narrows his eyes. “Throw it out,” I say, my voice a little steadier this time. I catch a glimpse of the glint in Seamus’ eye as he pulls the gun from his waistband. I lift the barrel of the gun, firing a warning round into the ceiling. I flinch from howfucking loudit is but bring it back to Seamus, holding it steady while staring him in the eye. “Don’t. Even. Think. About. It.”
He considers me seriously for, perhaps, the first time all night, holding one hand high while the other takes his gun and tosses it through the cage bars.
“Now get on your knees.”
Seamus glowers at me, holding his hands up a little higher before slowly sinking down to the floor. “You’re out of your damn mind,” he hisses at me.
“Maybe,” I admit—I don’t have much of a plan put together. I’ll never make it to the basement on my own. I know that. But one thing’s for certain…Seamus needs to die.
Before I can say anything else, the door slams open violently at my back. I sidestep quickly to the right, keeping the gun on Seamus, while shifting so I can see the door as well.
Koen.
I blink, just in case I’ve truly gone mad and I am, in fact, imagining him, but when I open my eyes again,he’s still here.Standing in the threshold, gun raised, chest heaving, with nothing but dark violence dancing in his eyes.
“Koen! Koen! Thank god, you needed to see this!” Seamus cries from the floor. “I’m so sorry you have to find out this way, son, but she’s working for them! It appears she’s more clever than she looks.” He frowns at me, and I glare down at him. “She’s been playing you the whole time, got you wrapped around her little finger, that one.” He glares up at me. “She never stopped feeding information to the Volkov.”
“He’s lying,” I say, keeping my gun on Seamus.
Koen’s face is a stone mask, and he remains in the doorway, cold eyes flickering between his uncle and me.
“What are you doing here, Seamus?” Koen’s eyes narrow on him. “Did Garrett text you?”
“Well, like the rest of you, I came to help, of course,” Seamus says, throwing up his hands like it should be obvious. “And yes, yes, Garrett texted me,”he adds nodding his head, looking up at Koen, while eyeing me as if I’m a wild animal. “Get me out of here Koen,before she kills me too.”
Koen stares at Seamus for a long second before he drops the gun he has on him; my heart dropping right alongside it. And then he turns his dark gaze on me.
“Koen…” I start, my voice cracking.
“Briar, give me the gun,” Koen says, holding out his hand and taking a step toward me.
Tears fill my eyes, but I shake my head, tightening my grip on the gun I keep steadily pointed at Seamus’ forehead. “No.” I whip my head back to Seamus in front of me. He’s looking awfully smug all of a sudden on his knees. “No,” I say again,shaking my head. “No, he’s behind all of it. He created this—thisnightmare.”
Images flash in my head:all the girls in cages, Lily’s clothes being torn off of her, her screams when they dragged her away.
I push the gun closer to Seamus, faintly aware of Koen entering the room, circling around behind me,closing in.
“He betrayed you.” My finger feathers the trigger, staring down at the man on his knees before me.
“She’slying, Koen. She’s never been anything other than a lyingwhore.” Seamus spews more vitriol from the ground, and my eyes fill with tears.“She killed Jace.”
Kill him.Kill him now.He deserves to die. He betrayed Koen, Liam, Aidan…He killed Jace…A single tear leaks down my cheek.Do it. You can do it. Just pull the trigger.
“I can do this,” I say aloud, willing myself to pull the goddamn trigger. The hand holding the gun to Seamus’ head trembles. Even with Koen closing in behind me, my eyes stay fixed on his uncle, who’s sneer grows wider with every inch Koen closes between us.
I know the second he reaches me, feeling his warmth at my back. Koen reaches up, his fingers slowly trailing down my arm until they reach the gun, and he gently pries it from my shaking fingers,taking it from me.His other arm snakes around my waist, pulling me into him, and his warm lips find my neck, where he deposits a light kiss before he whispers, “I know you can baby, but you don’t have to.”
“Look at me,” his low voice whispers in my ear again, and I turn in his arms until I’m looking up into his eyes. “Cover your ears, baby.”
I do.
“Good girl.”
I jump at the loud bang at my back as Koen fires the gun, falling forward and burrowing deep into his chest, wherethe tears finally fall, unbidden and soaking into his sweatshirt. Warmth floods into me when he wraps both of his arms tight around me.
“Are you okay?” he asks, running a hand down my hair. “Did he—did any of them touch you?”
The fear in his voice guts me like a knife. I shake my head. “No. No, I’m okay.”
