Page 6 of Blazing Embers

“Tara…” His voice softens. “I’m sorry. But we had to know?—”

“Well, now you do. So get the fuck out.” I nod toward the door. “You can tell your boss you found me dead. Tell him I slit my wrist rather than have to ever see his face again.”

He lets out a slow breath, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I’m sorry, Tara, even without the baby, I have to take you with me,” Konstantin says.

He takes a step toward me.

I raise the gun and aim it between his eyes.

“I don’t think so!”

He stops dead.

“Tara…” His voice drops, but he raises his hands. “You better be ready to pull that trigger because I’m not leaving here without you otherwise.”

“You think I’m not?” My hand doesn’t shake. “Trust me, you have no idea what I’m capable of, and I’ve only just begun realizing myself.” My eyes narrow warningly. “Topped with the fact that I’ve just learned how volatile I am, especially when I haven’t had my meds for weeks. Oh, and as an extra bonus, I’mvery hormonal because it’s that time of month, which apparently makes my kind even more lethal.”

“And you believe you can pull that trigger now that you know a bit about who you are?” His brows rise, and he purses his lips, not convinced. “Trust me, Tara, it's not as easy as you think it is.”

The fire starts to ignite in my belly. My mind starts to go clear as I practice what Clyde taught me about using my anger instead of losing it. “Since your bratva fucked up my life.” I give a rude snort and a cold stare as I make my features go blank. “You’ve taken everything from me. Used me as some pawn in some twisted game.” I shake my head, but my eyes never leave his, and my finger twitches on the trigger.

“Using your anger, Tara?” Konstantin realizes. “So I guess you and Clyde have gotten close enough for him to have told you who he is.”

“Oh, we’re a club now,” I mock. “How do you know about Clyde?”

His jaw clenches again, and his eyes darken. “My sister.” His voice is so low that Tara almost didn’t hear him.

“Your sister?”

“Yes, she was test subject # 7.” Konstantin’s words shock me. “But unlike the other test subjects, whose parents volunteered, Petra was stolen. The RMSAD had her for a year before my father got her back, and she wasn’t the sweet little girl we knew before she was taken.”

“Do you think this is going to what…” I shrug. “Make me feel sorry for you? Because I don’t. You’ve come in here to kidnap meand take me against my will like the RMSAD did to your sister. You show no remorse about that.”

“That wasn’t what I was doing,” Konstantin denies. “I was trying to tell you…” He stops and shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter.” His eyes narrow. “Just put the gun down, and no one has to get hurt. Especially not Clyde.”

Okay, that did it. A red-hot flame licks through my veins, and my heart slams into my ribs at the threat against Clyde’s life. My finger starts to squeeze the trigger.

“If I walk out there and Clyde’s hurt,” I say, voice flat, eyes colder than steel, “I’ll put a bullet in you that won’t kill you right away. I’ll watch you bleed out, wrap you in plastic, pour concrete over your sorry ass, and drop you in the ocean. And I won’t fucking blink.”

He swallows and frowns, momentarily stunned. “You’re serious.”

“Try me.” I move closer to the door. “You’ll die before I go anywhere with you.”

“Don’t do this, Tara.” Konstantin’s voice softens.

“I’ve already been hunted. Already lost everything. I will fucking end you as I have nothing left to lose.”

His eyes widen as I take a breath.

Then something cold presses to my mouth.

It’s a cloth with an acrid chemical.

My eyes are blurry, but I see Konstantin rip the gun from my hands. “I had her,” he growls. His voice fades as my body starts to go limp.

And then another voice, deep, dark, and chillingly familiar:

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