Page 82 of Wicked Oath

“You’d share me?” he asks with a grin.

“No,” I frown. “I went through a lot to get your trust. Unless you plan on breaking her, don’t bring her here, please.”

“Okay,” he laughs as he kisses me. “I have a present for you.”

“Oh?” I ask.

“Mhmm. Boris found it,” he says. “Come. Your present should be in the basement already. He brought it in through the tunnel.”

“Alright,” I shrug. He leads me to the basement door and goes first as we descend. When I get to the bottom, I am frozen. “Master Sergei…”

“They must have enjoyed by video so much that they wanted to come and visit,” he remarks as I stare at Talon, Jude, Chris, Adam, Tony, Ashley, and a man I don’t recognize. They’re on their knees with their arms restrained. Ashley looks like she’s been sobbing. Boris probably fucked her. They are all silently watching me and I don’t know what to say.

“I don’t understand,” I say.

“This is your present, Kukla,” he says. “This is your time to leave the past behind you and move forward with me.”

“You mean…”

“I’m going to marry you, Kukla. You will be my wife and give me beautiful babies. You want a family, don’t you?”

“I mean, yeah, but…”

“No buts,” he says softly, lifting my chin. “Get rid of your past and I promise I’ll make you the happiest bride. You want to be happy, right?”

“I do,” I say quietly. He gently kisses me, and I sigh. “What do you need me to do?”

Sergei pulls a pistol from his waistband and lays it in my palm. “Get rid of your past, Delaney,” he says with a sweet smile.

“Will I actually get to leave the property?” I ask.

“Once they’re dead, we are leaving on vacation,” he says. “I thought you’d love to visit Fiji.”

“Really?” I ask. “Tonight?”

“Yes,” he says with a smile, stroking my cheek. “I believe in you, love. Center of the head. It will be quick and painless. No more nightmares to wake you at night. Just me, you, and the whole world to explore.”

Nightmares are the one thing I haven’t gotten rid of. I see Talon get shot over and over again, only we don’t have a chance to save him. He dies in my arms, and I wake up. “Okay,” I say with a small voice. I pull the slide back to make sure there is a round chambered before I turn to Talon. He must go first. I’ll do Ashley second. I stare at him blankly, trying to decipher what he is thinking right now. I lift the pistol and press it to the center of his forehead. He doesn’t flinch, and that alone nearly knocks me off my feet. None of the guys are fighting this. Why?

“You aren’t trying to save yourself,” I say simply.

“I don’t want to live my life without you, Little Flower,” he says gently. His voice forces a rush of memories into my mind, and tears slide down my cheeks. “If you are happy here, I am happy to die for you to keep it.”

“We have to leave soon, Kukla,” Sergei says.

“It’s okay, Little Flower,” Talon says, smiling softly. “I don’t blame you.”

Talon seems eager to die for me and a sliver of the happiness I once had with him sneaks it’s way back into my brain. It suddenly sprouts and I realize what I’m about to do. I have my finger on the trigger, but I don’t want to kill him.

I want to go home.

Home…

I squeeze my eyes shut and pull the trigger. The blast is deafening, and I refuse to acknowledge the sobbing. All I wanted was to be saved, but they came too late. It’s too late for me. They don’t deserve to live a life of pain. If I’m not the one to do it, they will be killed slowly. I go from person to person, avoiding looking into their eyes. Each time a body hits the floor, I feel my humanity slip further away from me.

Seven bullets.

Seven bodies.

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