Gerard wasn’t out there in the boardroom with us buying weapons. He wasn’t selling them either. He wasauthorizingthem.
I can feel the realization tearing through Erin in waves—shock, betrayal, horror—but she’s still standing. Still breathing and still focused on Paige.
Gerard follows my gaze and smiles.
“She’s always been… too soft,” he says casually, resting his eyes on his daughter. “Too much like her mother.”
Paige makes a sound behind the tape. A small, terrified noise.
“She’s a child,” Erin says hoarsely.
“She’s leverage,” Gerard corrects. “And frankly, with so much ofyouin her, she was never going to amount to much anyway.”
The words hang in the air as both Erin and Paige mentally rearrange everything they thought they knew about this man, their lives, their world.
This is ugly. Irredeemable.
“Make. The. Call. Zanotti.” He’s aiming for calm command but the words are forced through gritted teeth.
Seconds stretch long and slow. His jaw juts.
I can feel Erin’s beating heart through the arm I have wrapped around her. With my other, I reach for my gun.
I would never have wanted it to come to this—for me to end the life of Erin’s husband and her daughter’s father, right in front of their eyes. I had no intention of getting involved in Erin’s past, only her future. But her past nowismy future.
“If you don’t make that call,everythingthat matters to your little pet dies,” he hisses.
Paige’s sobs escalate and her limbs fight against the ropes.
No one else moves.
My vision lasers on Gerard’s forefinger.
“Fine,” he sighs, his finger flexing. “If that’s the way you w?—”
My gun comes up as naturally as a breath.
Gerard staggers backward, a sadistic smile frozen on his face as the sound cracks through the room. He hits the floor hard, the echo still ringing as Erin screams Paige’s name.
I’m already moving—kicking the weapon away and checking Gerard’s body for movement. There’s nothing except for the blood pouring out the back of his head. This is one injury I won’t be attempting to fix.
Erin drops to her knees beside Paige, her hands shaking as she releases the ropes and tears the tape from her daughter’s mouth. Paige gasps for air then falls into her mother.
The door behind us bursts open and the two men waiting outside barrel in, alerted by the gun shot. In a practiced flash I whirl around and fire bullets through them both.
I hear Erin whisper soothingly to her daughter as Paige emits a terrified scream.
We’re now alone in a room surrounding by dead fucking bodies. Never a good look.
I turn to the window to make a different call. It won’t be long before more people descend on us after hearing gunshots.
“The deal’s off,” I state, when the call is answered. “We need to get out. Now.”
The room is feeling smaller by the second.
I turn around and see Erin looking up at me wide-eyed, her daughter trembling in her arms.
“It’s over—the deal,” I tell her. “There are too many people here with too much to lose. When the dust settles, they’ll turn on anyone still standing.”
