Page 94 of A Twist of Poison

Hollis always had our backs and held us up when we fell. I knew he was battling a truck load of guilt over this situation, believing that he should have known, no matter how many of us and how many times we’d told him it’s not on him. I’d be betting he wouldn’t take that advice on board.

He glanced at us, then to Milla. She sat watching the body of the man who’d taken so much from her shut down, his organs were struggling to keep him alive.

Hollis unclipped the gun from its holster that’d been sat over in the corner and strolled to Adam. Without a blink of remorse, Hollis cocked it and directed a bullet straight into his heart, the second bullet following between the middle of his eyes.

No last words. No goodbye.

Milla tipped her head back to the ceiling. Her dark, loosened hair flowed down the back of the chair. She inhaled and exhaled deeply like she’d just taken the freshest breath of air ever, as if we had removed a weight from her shoulders permanently.

It was an ending. More importantly, it was her true beginning.

Chapter41

Milla

He was dead.

I felt no remorse, no guilt. I sat back leisurely as I watched him being ripped apart in a variety of imaginative ways.

The men who’d carried out the violence that ended his life didn’t scare me one bit. I didn’t baulk once even when his ear-piercing screams reached a crescendo and his blood ran freely across the tiled floor. Each Owl had avenged me and every other victim who had fallen prey to him.

After returning that day from Adam’s brutal end, I’d showered, washing the stench of death from my skin before I ventured downstairs, finding Kai, and sat down to do some colouring with him. He babbled on as I listened, enraptured with every word that came from his mouth. I absorbed every small detail about him, making up for lost time.

He’d been set up in a bedroom near mine. Val had kitted him out with everything he needed, and I meanteverything. Toys, clothes, snacks. Spoilt kid. She was treating him like her own grandchild, and it made my heart happy seeing how easily they accepted him and the entire situation as if it was normal, when it was far from.

I settled him into bed reading him a bedtime story and my heart clenched painfully when he told me his daddy read him fairy tales. But I obliged, because this was about him. Not me. Never me. Kai was more important than my life would ever be, I didn’t say that lightly.

Kissing him goodnight and switching the nightlight on that he insisted stayed on, I left his room knowing I needed to air my differences with three men. I’d put it off so far, but running away from my problems was plain stupid.

My chest clenched. Just a tiny bit more time… I needed to get my head straight and make some life decisions in the next few hours. No big deal or anything.

Making use of the home gym in the basement for hours, I ran until I couldn’t breathe, until I’d decided and I welcomed the notion of speaking to my three men.Not yours, Milla. I noted the time and made my way back upstairs, rushing through a shower and hair wash. I threw on some comfortable clothing and made my way to locate them.

I heard them before I saw them, dotted around the smaller living area, where the doors could be closed for privacy. I knew they’d be here, Val had mentioned it in passing. They’d kept out of my way purposely, but I knew they’d been introduced to Kai. I knew they wanted to see me too. It just wasn’t enough.

They silenced when I entered, cutting off the conversation they’d been wrapped up in with Chris. He turned, giving me a friendly smile and left, shutting the door behind him.

And then it was just four of us, with tons of unseen baggage. But it was there, pulsing with its own heartbeat wildly between us.

I sat myself in an armchair across the room from them all, making it clear I didn’t want to be approached. Plus, I’d see all their faces from this angle. They dropped down onto the couches opposite and stared. No one spoke for a few moments. The air felt stifled with apprehension and all the unsaid words.

Before I could even begin the conversation we needed to have, Hollis spoke up.

“Kai is amazing.” I peered in his direction, one of his rare smiles making a dent on his face as he spoke about my son. God, this was strange.

“He is,” Preston agreed. “Got a good head on him, and a funny personality. Had me laughing earlier.”

“You don’t mind us spending time with him?” Texas voiced, feeling some of my concern. But it wasn’t about that in the slightest.

“Not at all. Thank you for being… normal with him, I guess? Especially after who his father is.” I took a deep breath. “This is the first time I’ve spent any time with him,” I admitted.

“Ever?” Hollis’ eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah.” I smiled sadly. “When he was born, I got a few minutes with him before he was whisked away. I’ve seen rare photographs, and been told a few snippets about him. Buthewas very good at keeping me away, to keep me in line.”

“What a fucking asshole!” Preston barked.

Remember what this conversation is about. Stop skirting around it.

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