Page 19 of Savage Cravings

I shook my head. “I still don’t think we should kill her,” I said.

Maverick looked at me. “She knows enough.”

I didn’t say anything to that. I knew my brothers wouldn’t listen to me, and it was as Maverick said: Daniel Hayes’ kid was a liability we couldn’t afford.

That bastard Hayes met his fate because he was stupid enough to leave Declan Tiernan’s children alone.

He didn’t think we would come back nineteen years later and destroy his club. He had thought he was invincible. We wouldn’t repeat his mistakes and let his spawn live.

Killian nodded, his brown eyes glinting.

I didn’t tell him how fucking much he looked like our abusive shithead of a dad at this moment.

Killian always hated the fact that he took after our old man, but he always had our mom’s softness growing up.

I wondered when that had disappeared altogether.

Maverick looked at me before following Killian outside. He wouldn’t say anything about our brother. He never said anything about our brother, and I wondered when he’d started to accept the fact that Killian was more savage than man most days.

My eyes squinted against the harsh, intrusive glare of the afternoon sun, and I could already feel sweat beading at the back of my neck. It was hot as hell here. Why would anyone want to live here?

Fuck, but I couldn’t wait to go home.

I was the last one to climb into the truck.

Behind me, Killian prepared the long-range rifle as I started the car and drove us up the small hill we’d passed on the way in.

Maverick found a good spot for us to lie low while we waited for the girl to come back. The three of us crouched down and watched the door.

The number 33, though no longer visible to me from this distance, seemed to pop into my mind.

My chest felt like a two-ton brick was pressing down on it. I didn’t know why, but my gut rebelled against the idea of killing this innocent girl.

This wouldn’t be the first time I killed for the organization or for my brothers.

It also wouldn’t be the last time, I knew that.

And we were being merciful.

The kill would be quick.

Painless, even.

So why the hell was I feeling like this?

This was fucking wrong. What would one innocent woman do to us if we let her live?

I rubbed my hand down my chest, and Maverick looked sideways at me. “You okay?”

“Yup,” I answered, glancing back at the motel.

Killian was silent, looking into the scope of the rifle, his focus on this mission.

That was all this was for Killian.

Sometimes I wished I was more like him.

Wished there was an off switch to my humanity.

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