Page 115 of The Payback

“Obviously,” I deadpan. “Who did you sell them to?”

“I don’t know. My, uh, colleagues handle that,” he stumbles over what word to call the underlings that do his bidding.

“You see,” I say, twirling the ice pick in my hand, ensuring he sees the pointed edge of it. “I already know who you sold them to. I’m just giving you the option to make your death a little less painful. Truth and honesty are virtues and should be rewarded, even though God will most certainly find your qualities lacking.”

“And what about you? Coming into someone’s bedroom and torturing them in the dead of night?” The momentary bravery has me cracking a smile.

“Oh, I already know where I’m going and made peace with that long ago. But if I can leave this world a little less fucked up than when I entered it, I’ll consider it God’s work.”

He sees that I’m telling the truth because his tone changes, and he gives me a list of names I already had, ones I already planned to pass on to Ellie and her other agents.

“Good boy,” I say, patting his cheek with the flat of my blade. His hand sneaks out, and he reaches for the space where the phone used to be.

“You won’t find any help there,” I say. “Anything else you want to confess before you meet your maker?”

He shakes his head, flinching away when he feels the cold steel against his skin again. “Please don’t kill me,” he begs, tears flooding his eyes. “I have a child. I have a wife. They’ll be lost without me.”

I tilt my head to the side, looking down at him. “From my observations, they’ll be better off without you. Tell me, how would you feel if somebody bought your daughter, raped her, and sold her off to the next asshole to do the same thing?”

His tears come in earnest now, and he knows he’s about to die. He might as well get this off his chest.

“I couldn’t help myself.” He tries justifying his actions, but there is no justification for what he’s done. There is no reason for having a rotating contingency of girls. Buying them, using them, and then selling them. Using that money to buy another—an endless cycle that he refuses to break on his own.

So, I’ll break it for him.

“If there’s any justice in the afterlife, I hope everything you’ve done to those girls is done to you tenfold.”

I drown out his blubbering sounds with a prayer, asking for forgiveness for what I’m about to do. I don’t make kills without knowing the consequences; in this case, the ends justify the means. Because while this man is evil and deserves to rot in the pits of hell, sending him there is a sin that I will shoulder for the rest of my life.

With my hand tight on the ice pick handle, I swing it back and jam it into the man’s temples as I slice my knife along his throat.

The light in his eyes dies, and the blood pools under him on the bed.

“Amen,” I breathe.

I look down at my suit, noting that the blood is everywhere, and quickly strip, bundling it and throwing it into the plastic bag inside my backpack.

I pull out a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt. It’ll be cold on the ride home, but it’s better than blood spray everywhere. I’ll toss the clothes into the fireplace when I get home.

Taking one last look back at Holden, I smile. “Sweet dreams, motherfucker.” I head downstairs to find the girl and hand her off to one of Dimitri’s contacts, who will hold her at the safe house until Ellie can get an agent sent down there.

They don’t need to know that I’m involved. Interpol would have a field day if they knew one of their agents had gone rogue like this, even though I was never really theirs.

CHAPTERFORTY-TWO

Eleanor

After hangingup the phone with Oksana, I head downstairs. Nik and Dimitri are sprawled on the living room furniture, staring at the roaring fireplace. It’s a rare moment of peace in the house. There are no meetings to run off to, no one to bodyguard, and as they stare into the flames, not saying a word but content in their silence together, my heart skips a beat.

They’ve spent the day talking, working on getting over what happened so long ago and the ocean of distrust between them while I dealt with the other agents and Oksana.

Staring at them, I can’t help but ponder the love I feel for both men in wholly different and completely consuming ways.

There was no hint of a lie when I told Dimitri I wanted both of them. And I will forever thank Olivia for putting that idea in my head. Because for so long, we’re taught that we’re meant to end up with one person. Isn’t that what Disney teaches us from the moment we’re old enough to watch films?

But honestly, after having Bella, I found a peace in myself I hadn’t had before.

I’m a dedicated agent, a mother, and a best friend to a slightly unhinged thief. I am a woman who is content to be on her own but happy to welcome someone who wants to stand by her side—orsomeones, I should say.

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