Cut didn’t struggle as I latched my fingers around his bound wrists. However, his eyes glowed with golden rage. His emotions poured forth, swamping with hatred and killable fury.
“Are we done?” Kill asked, crossing his arms over his leather jacket. “Will you be okay with your own men or do you want back-up?”
Shoving Cut into the barn, I ran a hand through my hair. “No. That’s it. Your task is finished. You’re free to return home, and I’ll make sure to repay the favour whenever you need.” Holding out my hand, Kill shook it.
“We’ll wait until you’re done. I’ll station my men at the forest edge, just in case. Once they know you’ve finished, they’ll leave.” He cocked his head, eyeing the building. “How long will you need?”
His question weighted with hidden curiosities he wouldn’t get answers to.What will you do? What’s in there? How badly will he die?
I swallowed, dreading what my night would entail. “Until dark. I need until dark.”
Kill grinned. “Six hours, it is.” Moving away, his large boots created indents in the soft woodland. “Pleasure knowing you, Hawk. I doubt we’ll see each other face-to-face again, but we’ll stay in touch.”
We’d come together for mutual advancement, and now, we would go our separate ways. It was for the best.
I waited for Kill and his men to disappear from the clearing before turning my back and entering the barn.
The moment I traded trees for tomb, I shed all resemblance of who I was.
I left behind my humanity.
I tore Nila from my heart.
I embraced the motherfucking ice my father had taught me.
This would kill me.
But it had to be done.
I stepped into the darkness and prepared to murder.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nila
“HE WON’T BE able to live with himself.”
Jasmine shook her head, wheeling toward me. “Yes, he will.”
I sucked in a breath, looking toward the window. The same window where the bird of prey had delivered Jethro’s note to meet me in the stable.
God, was that only a few days ago?
It felt like an entire lifetime.
I begged for a feathered messenger now to tell me everything was done, finished; that Jethro would return to me and nothing else could keep us apart.
Jasmine’s wheels whispered over the thick carpet of my quarters. The soft bubble of the fish tank and gentle tick of the clock all screeched over my nerves.
Springing from my mattress, I paced the large room. On every surface scattered half-sewn garments, scribbled drawings, and hastily cut fabric. My Rainbow Diamond collection existed in all stages of creation, but I would burn every scrap if it would bring Jethro closure and erase everything that’d happened.
“Nila, stop. You’re worn out.” Jasmine stopped by the chaise, narrowing her eyes at my frantic pacing. “Sit down, for God’s sake.”
I glared, disobeying.
Flaw had done what he’d told Jethro. V and Tex had gone with the maids to spare guest rooms and Flaw had taken me quietly back to my quarters. He’d fetched a banquet of fruits, snacks, and vitamin rich food, and summoned a servant to help tend to my bruises in the shower.
I wanted to refuse the food, knowing Jethro was just as weak as I was. I wanted to decline the shower because why should I be comforted while Jethro had such a trial to endure?
