Page 109 of Surrender
He sighed, holding out his arms. “Finally.”
He was ready to die.
He knew there was no escape.
No running away.
No version of this story ended with him leaving here alive.
But it wasn’t that easy.
I could have ended it in that second and made the world instantly a safer place.
But I didn’t.
Because I’d made a deal.
And while the satisfaction of shooting him between the eyeswould soothe a rage inside me that I’d never experienced before, that wasn’t going to help the families of these women get what they needed.
My retribution would be short-lived.
The peace that they will hopefully find when the truth comes out will last a lifetime.
Parker groaned loudly as he got to his feet. “Really?” he said, laughing and shaking his head. “I kidnap your girlfriend, I frame you for murder, and I shoot that kid you’re really protective of, and you can’t pull the trigger?”
His eyes shifted to Darcy, the corner of his mouth curling into a disturbing smirk. “Did you show him the garden bed with your name on it?”
It sat right at the end of the row.
Freshly built, with bags of soil propped up beside it and a handful of different bottles and buckets. Fertilizer, herbicides, everything needed to keep these coffins and the surrounding area so perfect and beautiful.
Hawk followed my gaze, walking over to the pile of garden chemicals and crouching down, gingerly hooking his finger through the handle of one stained and worn plastic bottle with a blue liquid sloshing around inside.
“This is old,” he said, leaning back to keep his face away from it. “Before I escaped The Village, we used to use this to clear fields of weeds before planting. It was so toxic, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal now.”
He looked back at me, obviously having the same thoughts I was.
I glanced down at Darcy, her body just tucked into mine, barely able to stand on her own feet. She lifted her eyes. It was obvious she was struggling to keep them open, and my main concern was some kind of internal injury I couldn’t see.
“I need to get Darcy out of here, and we need to handle this,”I said, nodding to Parker. “Cain, take Darcy and start heading back to the road. Reinforcements should arrive soon with a cleanup crew, and we can get her looked at. Hawk and I will set up things here and head to the lake to help Bishop and Whip.”
It was obvious Darcy wanted to argue by the way she clutched on to me, but what we were about to do wasn’t something I ever wanted her to have to think about.
I curled my hand around her neck and gently pulled her lips to mine, the soft brush of our kiss making the tension in her muscles subside. “Trust me,” I murmured against her mouth. “What we’re gonna do is for the good of everyone. It’s going to help the people he hurt.”
Parker started to laugh, and I turned to tell the bastard to shut the fuck up, but Darcy pressed her hand to my chest, shaking her head.
Cain walked over, holding his hand out for her to lean on.
It would take them a while to walk out of here at the speed she was moving, but at least I’d know she was safe.
“I love you,” she rasped, as she stepped away, her eyes holding mine.
My throat tightened, and all I wanted to do in that moment was sweep her off her feet and carry her away myself. To some other place, where I could make up for every fucking second we’d lost over the past twelve years—and almost forever.
But this was my job.
This was my part in the club.
