Page 126 of Vicious Deception

“No more,” he croaks. “Please.”

I crouch down in front of him, smiling at the pure terror in his eyes. “If any of you have one last thing you want to say, this is it.”

Both Elliot and Oliver shake their heads. They’ve said and done everything they’ve wanted to.

“Sweetheart?” I turn to look at her.

Wren’s jaw is set as she glares down at Ludo. She moves closer, very intentionally knocking one of her feet into his leg. When Holloway cries out, her eyes flash with pure hatred.

“You called me a coward once,” she says. “You remember that?”

He looks at her and just barely manages a nod.

“But it was always you. You hid behind power and wealth, behind your bodyguards and your deals. You killed a fucking child because you were afraid of her.” Wren shakes her head. “I’m no coward. But you are.”

When her gaze meets mine, her expression softens, and she nods. I could draw this out, but to be honest, I don’t want to. So I place the blade against Ludo’s throat and cut deeply across it, watching as blood pours out. He grabs onto my arm, trying to stop me, but he’s too weak.

We watch in silence as he struggles and chokes, his chest painted in blood. My heart clenches as I think of Sammy, of how I wish this could be a trade-off—his life for hers. This is the best I can manage, though. I found her killer, and now I’ll do my best to live a happy life in her honor.

As Ludo finally stills, Oliver releases a sharp breath and grabs Elliot’s arm. Despite the tears welling in his eyes, he smiles. “It’s over,” he whispers. “It’s finally over.”

Standing, I pull Wren away from Ludo’s body and move us closer to Elliot and Oliver. She throws her arms around both of them, and Elliot grabs me and yanks me into their hug. I somehow end up nestled between the three of them with Oliver kissing me fiercely.

“We did it,” he says, pulling away to look me in the eyes before kissing me again. He’s gripping my face, and his body is shaking.“We did it.”

Oliver kisses Elliot the same way before grabbing Wren, dipping her backward, and pressing his lips to hers. She cries out in surprise, but it quickly turns into a delighted laugh as he straightens and keeps kissing her.

My heart warms at the sight. We’ve been fighting for revenge, but we’ve been fighting for this, too. I’ll never stop mourning my little sister, but my body feels lighter. Already, smiling comes easier, and the guilt doesn’t swirl through my mind as I do.

“Now it’s time to really celebrate,” Oliver says. He’s already unlocking the door and pushing it open.

With one last glance at Ludo, I follow the others out of the cell. We’ll deal with his body later. Right now, he’s the last thing on my mind.

“My room,” I call as Oliver drags Wren up the stairs.

Since I was pretty sure we’d be killing Ludo today, I prepared a bit. This isn’t something that we can celebrate the normal way. It calls for more.

“You have something planned?” Elliot asks.

“I do. You’ll see.”

Upstairs, Oliver throws Wren onto my bed. They both tear each other’s clothes off while Elliot and I wash our hands in the bathroom. As Ell takes his turn, he notices one of my knives sitting on the counter. I cleaned it earlier in hopes of this.

“That for me?” he asks.

“If you’d like it to be.”

With an eager smile, Elliot nods. I pin him against the counter and fit my mouth to his, too impatient to wait until we get back to the bedroom. Moaning, he grabs onto me, pulling my hips into his.

“I don’t want to fight today,” Elliot tells me between kisses. “Just make me yours.”

I bite his bottom lip gently before pulling away. That’sexactlywhat I plan on doing.

In my bedroom, Oliver and Wren are already undressed, and they make quick work of me and Ell. Oliver sees my knife and must get an idea of what I have planned because he waits for further instruction after that.

I shove Elliot forward. “You, get on your back in the middle of the bed.” Once he does, I straddle him, running my hands over his bare chest. My fingers trail down his side to where the butterfly tattoo sits on his ribcage. “Oliver, Wren, come here.”

Both of them climb onto the bed. Oliver is on my left, and Wren is on my right. They’re both watching me eagerly.

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