Half Empty(51)

Ruslan ran a palm on his pants, her words penetrating his brain.

Her pulse ticked a steady beat in her neck. Every muscle in her body was ready for him to pounce. He was big, but she was faster.

“You intercepted Avery’s call. You learned about the blood left in the room and hired a drugged-out murderer who couldn’t follow instructions and a cleaning crew that wouldn’t know the term stealth if they looked it up in a dictionary. You wanted Avery out of the picture since she saw what you left behind. But your bankroll has been dwindling, can’t quite afford the help you once had.”

“You can’t prove anything.”

“Did you miss the part about me tracking you? Alice hired me to keep her son and daughter-in-law alive.” The desire to get in the man’s face and smash an elbow into his nose was so strong Sasha could taste it. “Once you killed Fedor, that only left Trina. With the support of her new family of friends, that gave me time to watch you . . . watch and wait for you to fuck up. With everything I’ve found, and the evidence left behind by your unassuming ex-wife, you’re going to be mopping the floor in prison with your hundred-year-old ass.”

Ruslan kicked the coffee table over as he stood and reached for his gun.

Finally!

One round kick and his gun was sliding across the hotel floor. Her second kick to his chest was pure satisfaction.

She moved in, fast. Managed two blows to his face before he blocked her elbow by shoving his shoulder into her torso.

Sasha used his move to capture his head and force it to her knee, repeatedly. “That’s for Avery!”

When she felt his body go lax, she pushed him away and sent a kick to his groin. “That’s for Mom.”

Ruslan spat blood to the floor and charged.

Sasha fell back, the table breaking their fall. And Ruslan started punching.

The pain of his meaty fists fueled her anger. She bucked with her hips and rolled to the side. Her knee met his groin again.

“You’re a filthy whore, just like your mother.”

He sent a fist to her stomach.

“You take a punch better than your mother. Weak woman didn’t even put up a fight when her neck snapped.” He threw her off and scrambled to his feet.

Sasha rolled onto the balls of her feet and sent a fist to his face.

He moved out of reach. “Your brother shared your loyalty to the pizdas who bore you.” Ruslan held up his arm, showing a scar that spread from his wrist to midforearm. “No one cuts me and lives.”

Sasha managed a fist to his face and went in for more.

He ducked and came up fast with both hands to her neck.

Air immediately stopped entering her lungs.

She twisted, attempted to make space.

He held on tighter.

Don’t panic.

Her legs were in motion, her blows reaching him, but he didn’t let go.

The room started to dim.

“My only regret is not taking Alice out when I had the chance.”

Her struggles started to fade . . . a little more pressure and her windpipe would shatter.

This wasn’t going to happen. All this work, and she was going out because of his hold on her neck.

Her lungs burned and her body lost its fight.

The room exploded in sound and her frame fell to the floor.

Sasha gasped in several pained breaths as her eyes fell on the man who shared her DNA. He was lying against the wall, his shirt quickly soaking in his blood.

A uniformed security guard stood over her.

She met Ruslan’s eyes as he took his last breath.

Sasha hung her head between her stretched-out arms and attempted to stand.

Reed swept in behind her and helped her up.

“Took you long enough,” she choked out.

He looked at her neck, and her face. “We need a medic!”





Chapter Thirty-Two



Trina stood on the tarmac as the private jet rolled to a stop and the small gangway lowered.

The Texas sun blazed down as the wind whipped her hair around her face. Dark sunglasses covered her tired eyes, hiding the circles that makeup couldn’t manage.

The media was out of reach, but that didn’t mean their lenses wouldn’t capture this moment.

Jeb walked down the stairs first and stood at the bottom as Wade filled the doorway.

Trina held her breath and waited for him to see her. When he did, he skipped a step and opened his arms.

She ran into them.

Her lips found his, his hat fell off.

He was alive, and whole . . .

She pulled away. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

“Shh, not done kissing you yet.”

Okay, she could work with that.

When she squeezed his waist, he winced. “Easy, darlin’.”

Her hands rubbed over his rib cage, felt a bandage in place. She started to pull at his clothing. “They said you were fine.”

Wade brushed her hands away. “Couple tiny fractures.”

“You’re broken?” No one told her that.

“Just a rib or two. Simmer down. I’m fine.”

“Wade Michael Thomas, you told me you were fine.”

He chuckled as he reached down to slowly pick up his hat. “Oh, the middle name. I find that strangely sexy, coming from you.”

“Let’s get you home.”

“Are we bomb free?” he asked as she limped him to the waiting car.

“Yes, they found one at my gate and one in your garage.”

“I heard.” Wade climbed in first and Trina followed.

The car drove them from the small airport directly to Wade’s ranch, where Trina planned on staying until he kicked her out.

“How is your mom?”

“She’s a pretty strong woman.”

“If it wasn’t for me—”

“Don’t.” Wade placed a finger over her lips. “My mother had no business in Vegas. If it wasn’t her, Ruslan would have taken someone else. Jordyn, one of the guys in the band. The end result would have been the same.”

“But your mom. She’s never going to accept me now.”

“She isn’t going to be given a choice.”

Trina squeezed in close, felt the weight of Wade’s arm over her shoulders.

“How is Sasha?”

Wade rested his head against the back of the seat. “Couldn’t really tell ya. According to Reed, who technically didn’t show up until the police were standing over Ruslan’s body, Sasha answered the questions the police asked, and then AWOLed from the ER before her X-rays were read.”

“That’s crazy, he almost killed her.”

“She had every reason to kill him.” Wade had heard the entire conversation, right up until the gunshot that ended everything. The microphone Ruslan had used was left on and forgotten, which gave the police everything they needed to pin murder, kidnapping, and blackmail charges on a dead man.

“I wonder if I’ll ever see her again. I have so many questions of my own.”

“Something tells me you will.”

“Is this all really over?”

Wade ran a hand over her hair as she rested it on his shoulder. “Baby, I hope so. I can’t keep up with your level of partying,” he teased.

In the front seat, Jeb laughed once. “Amen to that.”

Trina leaned forward and placed a hand on Jeb’s shoulder. “I didn’t even ask how you were doing.”

“I’m fine. Just fine. In need of a job, if you have any openings. Seems my boss fired me a couple of days ago.”

“What?”

“He’s lookin’ for sympathy. If he wasn’t employed, he’d be gone.”

Jeb twisted in his seat, the smile from his face gone. “Take that back, Cowboy, or I’ll break your other ribs.”

Trina actually thought Jeb was serious.

Wade hesitated.

The car was silent for several seconds before Wade cracked a slight smile and nodded once. “All right, then.”

The man code of unspoken agreements had unfolded right in front of her. It was handshakes and I got your back all wrapped up in a single look.

“But since you want to rehire me, I think I’ll be asking for a raise. Hazard pay.”

Wade laughed, held his side. “Stop. It hurts.”

They pulled up to Wade’s ranch to the fanfare of a homecoming. Trina didn’t recognize all the faces, but she did single Vicki out of the mix before the car was put in park.

Her eyes skimmed over Trina before falling on her son.

Wade pushed through the crowd and hugged his mother. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been thrown from horses. I’m fine.”

Wade kissed her forehead and stood back.

“I’m so sorry,” Trina told her.

Vicki blinked, looked at her son. “So am I.”

“I know what you’re thinking, Ms. Thomas.” Trina used her last name to create distance. “If Wade hadn’t met me, none of this would have ever happened. And you’d be right about that. If something had happened to you or him, I would have never forgiven myself. But apparently someone, somewhere, has other plans for us. I’m sorry you don’t like me, I truly am. But I’m not going anywhere. Not unless Wade wants me gone. If men with guns and big fists can’t drive us apart, I don’t think you’re going to manage. So I suggest we find some common ground, like the fact that we both love your son, and figure out a way to get along.”

Vicki looked around at the faces that were trying not to listen.

Wade shuffled his feet. “Trina just tossed you an olive branch, Mama. I really think you should pick it up.”