“Snobby?” She laughs; I inwardly cringe, but she doesn’t seem annoyed or embarrassed. “Not all of us care about the fancy things in life. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; it’s just not my thing.”
“Why not?” I ask skeptically. I can’t understand not wanting the very best if I had access to it.
“When the money comes from people who torture you in exchange for access to the things you want, it all loses its luster. I’d rather have nothing than be afraid of the price of such things.”
Her answer catches me off guard completely, and by the way McCrae accidentally grinds the gears of the truck mid-shift, I’d say it surprises him too.
“I don’t?—”
She waves her hand. “Sorry. I’m a notorious oversharer. Forget I said anything.”
But I can’t forget what she said, and part of me wants to know how she does it. She might be dainty and full-fem, but she also has glimmers of steel beneath the surface.
“How do you live with the fear?”I refuse to acknowledge what I’m actually asking.
She faces me fully, her girlish features gone—there’s an edge to her that would make even the deadliest person pause. “I learned to protect myself. When I was shipped off to rich-bitch Ivy League college, I made friends with a girl who changed everything for me. She taught me I didn’t have to be who I was made to be; I could be anyone I wanted. So, I found a small gun range in town almost no one went to. There was an old man there, the nicest man I’ve ever met, and he taught me to shoot. He was previously a sniper for the Marines, so as you can imagine, his lessons were very thorough and intense. I’ve never been afraid again.”
I’ve never been afraid again.
Without thinking, I open my mouth. “Can you teach me?”
EIGHT
RAFAEL SANTOS
September 13th, 2025
It was almost tooeasy getting into her life. Like a desperate whore, Valentina Reyes took one look at me and decided to trust me.
Fucking pathetic.
Truly, how has she stayed alive this long if one second, she’s killing off people’s families, and the next, she’s inviting strangers into her home? Surely, she has to know it’ll catch up to her.
Or maybe that guard dog of hers makes her feel safe—a little too safe, if I have any luck.
He was a complication I overlooked when I tried to make my move, but I won’t be so careless next time. When I get my shot again, I won’t fucking miss.
For my brothers.
Watching the two of them is sickening. Fire and ice—both horrible ways to die, and not the least bit apologetic to the world they destroy around them.
But I’ll make them pay—I’ll make her crawl on her knees before I’m done with her.
The truck rumbles out of view, the three heads in the window fading into nothingness. I wipe my arm across my forehead and cuss the impossible list of chores still waiting for me. It’s only nine in the morning, and the sun’s already an unbearable force blistering the Earth.
Working for the bitch was not exactly how I wanted to exact my revenge, but if it allows me to slowly destroy her life before taking it, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
I’ve always been a patient man; with three brothers, all more demanding than the next, I had to be. I was always the one who played nice, did the work no one wanted to do, made peace.
And now, I’m the only one left, forced to take on a roll I never saw myself taking—the avenger.The shadow in the night, set to make the enemy pay for everything they took from me.
Stomping back toward the bunk house, I yank open the door and quickly shut it behind me. I know Valentina tried to snoop yesterday when she followed me in here, insisting putting the sheets on the bed was the least she could do.
I bet it was the first time she ever put sheets on a bed—the way she struggled until I offered to help was evidence enough of that.
Not only is she a murderer and a tyrant, she’s a spoiled brat.
Why am I not surprised?
