“Why do you want Forester out?”
“He’s dangerous. He fucks up the local economy everywhere he invests, bringing in foreign money and screwing over the people that lived in the town their whole lives. He’s done it many times in the past, and I couldn’t let him do it again.”
“We’re protecting our families,” Al said.
I stared at them quietly. The only sound was Tommy rolling side to side.
I walked closer to them, my body flooded with anger and rage. I wanted to kill these men so badly. These men were the ones who had orchestrated everything, who had started coming after us. They were the reason Claire saw me kill a man. They were the reason she was almost snatched outside her father’s club.
And for what, because they didn’t like Jonathan Forester’s business tactics? Nothing excused hurting an innocent girl. Nothing at all.
I took a deep breath. My rage was overwhelming me, threatening to drown me, and I knew it. I knew I needed to take a moment, regain the Zen I had lost. And as I did, as I calmed myself, Al decided to make his move.
He reached for his jacket. I watched, almost in slow motion, as he went for something hidden in his pocket. As soon as I saw the barrel emerge, I fired, putting two bullets in his chest. He dropped to the ground, the gun falling from his hand.
I wheeled on Joshua, who didn’t move an inch.
“I’m glad he made me do that,” I said to him quietly, “because I want to kill you all.”
“Please. You don’t have to do this.”
“You’re right. Killing you would cause me more trouble than it’s worth. The mercenaries don’t have families or people that care about them, but you people are a part of this place. You can’t just disappear.”
I lowered my gun but remained ready.
“Leave town and never come back. Take care of this mess and then leave. Otherwise, I will hunt you down, and I will end you.”
He nodded, terror in his eyes. “Okay.”
I turned and walked away.
I could have killed them, but it would have brought a lot of heat down on me. Fortunately, Al had made that decision easy for me. I knew that once they saw one of their own gunned down, they were going to keep quiet. These weren’t hardened criminals, as much as they liked to pretend they were. They were just scared men trying to save their dying way of life. Plus, who knew what kind of incriminating shit I could dig up with a cursory glance through the damn creepy factory.
They’d seen what I could do. I needed them to clean my mess up and get the fuck out, and that was all. They were more useful alive than dead.
Which was why I needed the battle calm. Otherwise, I made dumb decisions, emotional decisions that could cost me more pain in the future.
I retraced my steps and climbed calmly back through the window. Claire looked at me, and I flinched at the fear I saw there.
“You look . . . horrible.”
I looked down at myself. I was covered in blood, some of it my own.
“Shit. Sorry.”
“Untie me, idiot.”
I quickly did as she asked, and she threw her arms around my neck, crushing her body against me. I didn’t think I deserved it, but I returned her hug, breathing her smell deeply. What was left of my violent rage completely dissipated, returning to wherever it normally hid.
“Fuck, I’m so happy you’re okay,” I said to her.
“I love you,” she blurted out.
I pulled back, my eyes wide. She looked away, clearly embarrassed.
“I love you too,” I whispered.
And in that moment I knew I always had. Even when I first got a taste of her back in the club, before I knew who she was, I had loved her. When my bitch mother asked me to stay with them, I decided to do it only because I’d be closer to Claire. Because I loved her, I realized, and wanted to be near her. She was the only one I was willing to do anything for, to go so far for.
I kissed her, hard, and she kissed me back, wrapping her arms around me. I’d never been so uselessly and hopelessly intertwined with another person before. In the SEALs, you didn’t get close with anyone, because your future was totally controlled by Uncle Sam.
But with Claire, I had no choice. I couldn’t say no to her, just like I couldn’t predict my own future.
Finally, the kiss finished, she looked up at me with these wide eyes.
“Take me home, stupid,” she said.
“Okay.”
I whipped her up into my arms, and she laughed, hitting my chest. I carried her out of there, avoiding the bodies, and took her back home.
19
CLAIRE
One Year Later
“I SHOULD HAVE SEEN this coming.”
I was nervous, practically shaking, as my dad stared at us from across the table. Never in my entire life had I dreaded a conversation more than the one we were having. Even when those men took me over a year ago, even that wasn’t as bad.