I hear nothing, because he said tomorrow night, I’m back on the schedule. Like yesterday, I simply malfunctioned or something. I stand, the movement silencing them both.
Adriana looks at me. “Jude, tell him—”
I don’t bother. I brush past them and into the bedroom.
Behind me, Aiden snorts. “What's funny is, Hernik was told to golighton him for his first time. Next time, it'll be worse." He laughs. "That man must’ve broken him.”
Something inside my skull clicks into place.
Broken. Next time.
I calmly open the nightstand drawer and wrap my hand around my pistol.
In the living room, Adriana’s voice rises. “Shut the fuck up, you patheticdog.”
Aiden laughs. “Oh, your time is coming, too, sweetheart. Trust me. And I'll get the first ride. Well, Erik's fighting me on that.”
I walk back out, but they don’t pay attention to me since they’re yelling at one another. Adriana’s back is to me. Aiden is facing her, one hand gesturing lazily.
I lift the gun. And without a dramatic swell of anger, shaking, or hesitation, I aim. Right over Adriana’s shoulder.
And I shoot.
Aiden’s head snaps back. The sound of his body hitting the floor is dull and heavy. He collapses in the doorway, blood rapidly spilling beneath him. Adriana gasps and scrambles backward, hitting the wall near the kitchen so hard that a photo falls. Her hands fly to her mouth, and I lower the gun slowly.My heart isn’t even pounding. It’s actually steady as I approach. Aiden’s eyes stare up at nothing, the hole between them small. A corner of my lip quirks up as I admire my precision. Blood seeps across the tile, creeping toward my socks. I stare at it. It’s darker than I expect.
Time seems to dissolve, since I don’t know how long I’m standing there. Adriana is saying something. I think. Her voice sounds far away. I don’t pay attention until I hear a sudden inflection in her tone.
I lift my head and see Erik standing in the doorway, his blue eyes locking onto Aiden’s body. Then the blood. Then they find mine, and they widen.
I raise the gun and point it at him. For a few suspended moments, there are no words. I’m a predator locked in, noting the subtle tension in his shoulders and the way his jaw tightens.
Adriana suddenly lunges, slamming her weight into my side. The shot fires, punching into the wall. When I turn back, Erik is gone.
I glare down at her. “Why would you do that?”
“Are youinsane?”she cries. “They’re going to punish you for this!”
I shrug and walk to the table, placing the gun down with care.
Punish me.
What the fuck ever.
She follows me into the hallway, desperation clinging to every step. “Jude, please. Come back. You’re losing yourself.”
I reach the wall and bend down just enough to grab the mask from where it rests on a bookshelf. I lift it and stare at it. Without it, my face feels...exposed.
“Hey!” she yells. “Put that thing down and answer me, goddammit.”
I rub my thumb over the white surface and the dark specks of dried blood. “He understands me.”
Adriana pauses. “What? Who? Thatthing?”she asks, pointing at the mask.
I don’t answer. I just continue staring at it, feeling an overwhelming urge to put it on and go slaughter everyone in that fucking house. Erik, Alexei, and the rest of his men on shift tonight. And then, shove this barrel into my mouth and pull the trigger.
“Please, just look at me,” she begs. “Come on, Jude, stop. Don’t be stupid.”
My grip tightens on it. “You don’t get it, do you?” I chuckle darkly, my shoulder scraping the wall as I stumble forward. I corner her without meaning to, backing her against the hallway wall. “The mask isn’t a disguise. It isn’t something I put on and take off. It’s not separate from me.It is me.”
