I reached for Choyce's throat, my thumb pressing into her wound. She flinched but held her composure.
"Think what you want, but Navy is my purpose and my reason. I know that's hard for a bitch who's never known love to understand, so let me make this real clear?—"
I took Choyce by the hand and dragged her out of the room, back toward where the bodies hung like reminders. I forced her down onto her knees, not giving a fuck that she landed in a pool of blood.
"Honor, what are you doing?" Syn gritted.
"Ignore what doesn't concern you, Emersyn," Killian calmly stated.
I removed my gun from my waist and pressed the barrel to Choyce's forehead. Not hard or shaking. Just ready to kill if she didn't make the right choice.
"One of the first lessons Lucian drilled into me," I quietly voiced, "was never to flash your weapon unless you're prepared to end the problem."
I nodded past her shoulder.
"Those men behind you? They were a problem. They put bullets in the air at Chosyn and Navy on Lucian's command, so I killed them, and I killed Lucian's butler, too. His consequence for using Navy as a warning."
My gaze cut back to Choyce. Her eyes flickered with something twisted and hungry. Fear didn't come, but excitement did, and lust followed, pooling in her stare.
"And now," I continued, "you're starting to feel like a problem to not only me, but Navy too." The gun stayed kissed to her forehead. "Navy let you off easy. You should probably thank Chosyn for that. But me, I'm all out of fucks to give. I've pulled this out one too many times for you to still be breathing."
I leaned in just enough for her to feel the weight of the gun.
"So I'm gonna ask you this once. Lie to me, and I'll kill you right here, right fucking now."
I paused, asking God to give her the common sense she so clearly lacked. I didn't want to kill Choyce. She was a victim of her circumstances. Shaped, scarred, and broken by it. She deserved better than me, better than this life.
My eyes drifted to the cut Navy left behind, proof of how far she'd been pushed. If killing Choyce meant Navy would never have to touch that darkness again, then I'd do it. I've crossed worse lines for less. Still, when I looked at Choyce, something familiar curled in my chest. She felt like the innocent parts of me I had forgotten about. The kid who waited for protection that never came. Choyce wasn't angry. She was broken and silently begging for someone to piece her back together.
I didn't want to be her executioner. I didn't want to be the monster she clung to because she didn't know what real safety looked like. I wasn't thebettershe deserved. I was just the man who survived what she hadn't yet learned how to escape.
"Are you a problem or a solution?"
"A solution," Choyce answered, pushing herself to her feet despite the gun still kissing her skin. "But I need something from you."
"What?"
"Protect Cherish," she softly requested. The excitement was gone. What looked back at me was raw and vulnerable. "I don't know what's going to happen to me, but if something does… I need you to protect her. She doesn't have anyone who'll rearrange heaven and hell for her."
"Why me?" I asked. "Why not Chosyn or Kage?"
"Because Kage has his own demons to face, and I see how you protect Navy. I want that for my daughter. Talon is her father, but the moment I told him Lucian threatened Cherish's life, he took her to his house. He doesn't understand because he refusedto play Lucian's game. But you and I, we've played. We know the rules. I don't want Cherish to learn the way I did. So, I need you to promise, no matter what, you'll protect my daughter."
Something like a pain stirred inside me as I saw Choyce in a different light.
Vulnerability. Honesty. Everything opposite of the control freak I'd been fighting with. She was simply Choyce. Stripped down to the part of herself that only wanted someone to keep her daughter safe, even if it cost her everything.
I lowered the gun. "Cherish is safe. No one will ever touch her."
Her shoulders collapsed in relief, a broken sound slipping out of her. I almost let myself feel it with her but turned away and faced the rest of the room.
"Lucian has to die," I calmly stated.
Killian's voice was even. "You don't pull a pillar without bringing the roof down. Are you sure you'll be able to withstand those consequences?"
"If it means those I love are safe forever, then I'm willing to bear the weight."
Syn's eyes met mine, an unspoken understanding passing between us. Killian's warning was clear. The roof would fall, and when it did, I might not be left standing. However, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered more than the cost being worth it.
