The second Seth pulled into the garage, I bolted out of the car and went straight inside to his gym. My hands weren’t wrapped, but I didn’t care. I pounded on the punching bag as hard as I could, my muscles screaming at me to stop. I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep beating the bag and pretend it was Nikolai’s face that I was crushing underneath my fist. The sound of my fists pounding against the bag echoed throughout the gym. It was a rhythmic beat that matched the palpitations in my chest. I didn’t care about the pain in my knuckles or the sweat pouring down my face. All I wanted was to get out all my anger and frustration. To let it all out until there was nothing left inside of me. The problem was that nothing was going to help, not until Nikolai had paid for what he’d done. The anger inside me was so volatile that I feared losing myself if I didn’t let it out.
My arms burned like fire as I hammered the punching bag, and I couldn’t hold in my pain any longer. The scream that erupted from my lungs shook me to my very core. I collapsed onto the mat, gasping for air as my body trembled with unbridled rage. My mind was a blur, consumed by thoughts of Nikolai and the injustice he had subjected me to. The only thing that kept me grounded was the feel of the cool rubber beneath me, the sweat that soaked through my clothes, and the faint sound of the air conditioning blowing out of the vents.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. But as I exhaled, I felt a pair of hands on my body. Seth’s scent engulfed me, and I couldn’t hold in my pain any longer.
Tears streamed down my face, and I cried harder than I’d ever cried before. Seth held me and I squeezed him back, knowing it was time to tell him everything. Ripp getting targeted was all my fault. Nikolai needed to be dealt with once and for all. We couldn’t wait for him to make another move.
“Let it out, Wren,” Seth murmured. “You’ve kept it bottled up for way too long.”
Closing my eyes, I could see Parker’s smiling face, and my heart ripped apart even more. I buried my face in Seth’s chest.
“It hurts so fucking bad.”
Seth sat back and grabbed my face, forcing me to look at him. I didn’t want him to see me cry, but the tears kept coming.
“I know it hurts,” he said, his hazel eyes searching mine, “and I know you’re furious right now and want revenge.”
That was a burning desire that I yearned for.
“I want him to suffer,” I growled. “The same goes for Jagger.”
Seth swiped my tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “They will. I can promise you that. That’s why I’m making a phone call to Nikolai tonight. I’m going to end this.”
I could see the truth in his eyes. “Before you do that, there’s something you should know.”
His expression darkened and he sighed. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
Swallowing hard, I shook my head and stood up, moving away from him. “No.” I ran my hands through my hair and hung my head, not wanting to see the betrayal in his eyes when I confessed. “Nikolai called me.”
The tension in the room exploded.
“Are you fucking serious?” he hissed. He stormed over to me and grabbed my arms. “What did he say?”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. “He gave me three options. He knew I wanted to fight him, so that was the first. If I won, of course, I wouldn’t settle for anything less than killing him. If he won, I was told I’d have to work for him. That was the second option.”
Seth’s eyes widened and his fury sent chills down my spine. “Son of a bitch! When is this supposed to take place?”
I bit my lip and it felt like I was going to be sick. “Last night,” I answered.
Seth released my arms, his fists clenching angrily at his sides. “You weren’t just playing around with me last night when you were sneaking out, were you? You were going to meet Nikolai if I didn’t stop you.”
“No,” I gasped. “I mean—” I stopped and huffed. “I originally said yes, but the longer I thought about it, I knew it was the stupidest thing I could ever do. Even if it did look like I would win the fight against Nikolai, his men would never let me kill him.”
Seth’s hands shook with rage, and he ran them through his hair. “I can’t believe this shit. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want your anger to cloud your judgment and for you to do something rash.”
His gaze narrowed. “You know me better than that, Wren. I’m not like Nikolai.”
I nodded. “I know. When I didn’t show up, he called again. You were asleep at the time. He said I wasted his time and that more people would suffer because of me.”
My lips trembled and I felt the overwhelming surge of grief returning to the surface. Seth’s expression softened, and he closed the distance between us.
“Ripp was attacked because of me. He could’ve died.”
Seth clasped my face and sighed. “But he’s alive. Now, tell me what the third option was.”
I lifted my hands to cover his. “He wanted me to turn you over to him.”
