Page 131

“I understand, baby.” He leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead as Saint’s arms tighten around me. I close my eyes, contentment settling over me. Their comforting touch is giving me strength.

“That doesn’t mean you three can’t do it for me.”

“Yeah?” Saint asks when I pull back to look at all of them.

I bite my lip, an odd rush of arousal filling me at the idea of my men avenging my honor, killing the demons from my past.

“Yeah.”

“Fuck yeah, baby. Let’s gooooo!” Shepherd whoops. He turns around and takes off running towards the barn.

“You sure?” Maverick asks me as we start following after.

“I’m sure,” I answer, and in my heart, I know I am.

It’s time for Ronny to die.

It’s bizarre that I’m thinking those words. But it never felt more right.

What does that say about me? The thing is, for once in my life, I just don’t fucking care.

These three have proven they would never judge me for anything. And the last thing they would judge me for is murder. It’s not only their job but their favorite pastime.

We step inside the barn, and the first thing I smell is piss. My nose wrinkles, and I bring my shirt up to cover it.

“Sorry,” Saint says. “Guess he pissed himself while we were gone.”

“Probably shit himself too,” Maverick grunts.

Maybe I’m going to hell, but that makes me snort out a laugh.

Maverick looks down at me, a subtle smile dancing on his lips.

“Come on!” Shepherd shouts. “Let’s get this party started!”

Rounding the corner, I stop in my tracks when I see him. He’s strapped to a chair, head slumped forward, not moving.

Maybe he is dead.

“Hey.” Shepherd slaps him in the face. “Wakey, wakey.” Ronny makes a grunting sound and slowly lifts his head.

As soon as I see his eyes, bloodshot and lifeless, I’m hit with emotion. But it’s no shock at seeing him in this state, or guilt because at some point I thought I loved this man.

No, it’s pure fucking smugness. He looks so broken and defeated. Just like how he made me feel every time he hit me, every time he pinned me down and forced himself on me.

“There he is.” Shepherd grins, grabbing a handful of Ronny’s hair and yanking his head back. “Thought you died on us. Can’t have that before we’re done playing.”

Ronny groans, blinking a few times. He seems out of it, but as soon as he looks my way, his eyes light up just the smallest bit, as if he thinks I’m here to save him.

He says something, but because he doesn’t have his tongue anymore, it comes out as a garbled mash of sounds. But I think he said my name. His face is a mess, dried blood coating his mouth and chin.

I lick my lips, everything I’ve ever wanted to say to this man on the tip of my tongue.

“He doesn’t have much longer,” Saint warns, moving over to Ronny. He looks him over, then at us. “He’s bled out a lot. Our patch job didn’t do much.” Saint locks his eyes on me. “Cove, baby, if you want to say anything to this waste of space, now would be the time to say it.”

I take a hesitant step toward him, wrapping my arms around myself. “I gave you everything,” I start, finding my voice. “My time, my heart, my trust. You abused that to the fullest. You took something personal to me, and used it against me in an evil, vile way. You hurt me. You took so much from me. And now, I’m taking something from you: my life back. I will no longer live in fear that one day you’d get out of jail and punish me for putting you behind bars. Now you’re going to hell, where you belong. And I couldn’t think of anyone better to send you there.” I take another step forward, my confidence slowly building. “You see these three men? They’re mine. They would burn the world down for me. Kill anyone who caused me harm. You? You're the one I needed protecting from. I didn’t have anyone at the time, but I do now. They are everything I could want and more. You were nothing but a coward, a monster, a fucking loser. I’m gonna sit here and watch them end your life, and then I’m going to go to bed without a hint of guilt because this is how it should be. No one is going to miss you, Ronny. I hope you know your time on this earth was meaningless. The only mark you left was a fucking skid mark,” I sneer.

“Nice one, baby,” Shepherd chuckles. “You hear that? You’re nothing but a pile of shit.”