Page 248 of Bossy Hero

Logically, Iknowthe boat isn’t moving, but it sways like we’re on the open ocean in the middle of a hurricane.

But the only storm is the one inside me.

“Oh, you are surprised I know about sweet, innocent Daniel?” Lenkov narrows his inky eyes at me. “Poor crazy Daniel. Killed because big brother trusted wrong person. Like today, yes?”

I want to screamno. Deny him and prove him wrong.

But he’s right.

Every damn word.

I’ve spent my entire life trying to care for damaged and broken people, gathering them up like orphans in need of a good home. All to make up for what I did to Daniel. To right the wrongs of my selfish past.

And to convince myself I’m not a monster.

Sadly, no matter how manychildrenI have at Redleg, I’ll never have my brother back. Because I failed him when he needed me the most. For my own selfish pursuits and because I trusted the wrong person.

Visions of Daniel relentlessly assault me.

The way he looked crying at the door before I turned my back on him.

The sound of my name as he wailed for me, desperate for my comfort.

Painful memories scrape against the barrier of my subconscious. They pound and thrash at the surface, demanding I languish in their sadness.

Exactly the way Daniel did to the glass panel beside our front door.

As I walked away from him.

Patterson’s volume spikes, jerking me back to the present. “Do it already. His men will be here any second. If I’m getting you out of here, we need to leave now.”

Lenkov twists away from me, going chest-to-chest with his apparent getaway driver. “Don’t you dare order me, you pathetic fool.”

My eyes sweep from side to side, helping me get my bearings.

I’m on the fucking boat. And they’ve both lowered their weapons to have a pissing contest.

Reaching behind me, I wrap my fingers around the grip of the revolver. The one I pulled off the mountainous man.

In a more respectful tone, Patterson asks Nikolai, “Are you going to kill him, or should I?”

The bratva scum curses under his breath.

I’m distracted slightly by Henderson’s voice in my earpiece. “On the way, Boss. Had to take out the trash.”

They’re too late.

Still hidden behind my back, my index finger eases onto the trigger. Unfortunately, both of these fuckers are armed and seconds from firing at me. Who do I shoot first?

I clear my thoughts, putting all my faith in my gut instincts.

And I make my choice.

If I only get the chance to shoot one, it’ll be the one most deserving.

Staring me down over the barrel of my own damn gun, the snake hisses his parting words. “Say hello to sweet Daniel for me.”

In an equally scathing tone, I counter, “Say hello to Viktor for me.”

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