Page 135 of Brutal Collateral

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Ava

I’ve killed yetanotherperson.

“We have to get you out of that dress,” Griffin says, but I barely hear him over the blood rushing through my ears.

“Lola and Lucia were going to help me get undressed and into a pantsuit I laid out for the grand exit.”

“I’ve sent them home with your aunt. You don’t want young girls to see this.” He tightens his hold on my hand. “I’ll help you.”

“Where are my brothers?”

“I sent them home, too.” Griffin runs a hand through his hair. “With a warning. You’remywife. This is a Keller problem, andIwill protect you.Iwill deal with this.”

“Was I wrong to give the order to kill the mother?” I ask, only showing my doubt to him.

“She wants you dead. An eye for an eye.” Griffin kisses my blood-stained knuckles. “Did the garrot hurt you at all?”

I scoff, “Like someone can choke me.”

“That’s my girl.” He grips my chin. “Look at me. How’s your head? How’s your heart?”

I press a hand to my chest, my breath escaping in a slow rush. “I feel...”

“Yeah?”

“I used my survival instincts from RAVEN.” Putting this incident in that perspective, my heartrate slows. I’ve been here before. The rush of the kill building to a fever eventually cools and calms. “But...will this be my life forever? I can’t—”

Griffin stops me with his mouth. “We’ll just avoid large crowds until the threat is eliminated. In retrospect, this was one huge fucking risk.”

I look down at my bloodied dress. Damn, I loved it. “Not much of a princess, am I?”

“Thank fucking God for that. I’ll take the real you any day,” he says, sounding like he doesn’t want to let me go.

“I want to go home,” I mutter.

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