Page 56 of Savage Sin

Pain distorts the man’s face. The fucker has two choices: shoot or breathe. He can’t do both.

The Glock drops to the ground, and he clutches at my grip on his throat with both hands. He never took the time to learn hand to hand. He always thought guns could do the talking for him.

Ghost tries to dislodge my hold on him but he’s not going anywhere.

Red fills his face. A few more seconds and he’ll pass out at my feet. I regret a lot of things in my life. This moment is not one of them.

“I told you when we met again, I would end your life.” My voice is low-pitched and covered in death’s shroud. “If I failed to make that plain enough for you to understand, I guess I need to rectify that once and for all.”

Blue eyes laser on me. Red rims his eyes and he appears every bit the demon he so wanted to be when we were kids.

“Rage. You’re going to kill him.” Fear twists her voice into panic.

I hear Persi, but I can’t force myself to loosen my death grip any more than I can erase my past.

“Cover your eyes, baby,” is all I can tell her. There’s no stopping this.

I level the end of my gun at his head. He doesn’t blink, but I recognize the terror draped over his expression. His eyes are large and his chest barely lifts and falls. Sweat drips down the sides of his face. Death isn’t anyone’s friend. Especially his. “You were a friend, you fucking bastard. My brother loved you. He looked up to you. Was it you who put his head in that jar?”

Ghost breaks out into our native tongue.

“You have it all wrong. He’s dead now because he didn’t listen tome. Me! I tried to tell him to get the fuck out. But he was too loyal to you, brother.”

“That doesn’t change the fact you gave him up.”

“How long before they found out, anyway? You know Silas would have figured it out.”

His words gurgle and mesh from the amount of pressure on his throat. I see no reason to change that.

“You gave him up. You pointed him out to your new boss and Ares’ brother to save your own ass.”

Ares’ brothers are just like their father. Murderous traitors willing to kill anyone for control and power. Oizys, the eldest brother, killed the father in a fit of rage before trying to off Ares months back. It didn’t go well for Oizys. He’s dead, as is Kirill, the second eldest, thanks to Riot.

Persi hasn’t put a name to the Russian working with her step-father, but Ghost just did. In doing so, my suspicions are confirmed—the youngest of Ares’ siblings is moving into Kirill’s spot and trying to establish a stronghold on this side of the world. When will they ever give up? We kill one and another fucking Antonov pops up. It’s damn tiresome.

“I gave up your brother and I would do it again. My little girl is worth your life, mine and everyone else’s.”

His confession forces my fingers to clamp down harder. I give him just enough slack to not die. Not yet.

“Did his life not mean anything to you?”

“Rage, you can’t kill him.”

I don’t dare look at Persi when she comes to my side. She weakens me.

“In the end, I had to.” Ghost solidifies his place in hell with those few words.

I can’t imagine the betrayal my brother felt seeing Ghost there, yet not lifting a finger to help him. I’m shaking my head before he finishes. The pain in Ghost’s voice is palpable and I feel for him. I do. But my brother’s life mattered, too.

“You don’t get to play God!”

Persi grabs my arm and her touch nearly has me falling to my knees. “Persi, get behind me. Don’t watch this.”

He grapples with my wrists, thrashes and tries to land a fist anywhere he can reach on my body.

“Rage! Oh, shit! Rage! We have company.” Peri pounds on my back and pulls on my shirt.

“Who?”

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