Page 84 of The Predator

Sebastian stands and takes a spin around the room like he's trying to hype himself up to do this.

"You don't have to, you know?" I whisper.

He doesn't look at me. "I need to do this. She won't hurt anyone else ever again."

"I could..."I swallow hard, not even sure of what I'm saying. "I could do it for you. Or Aries. He seems like he'd love to rearrange her face with his gun."

Tanya lets out a little sob, dropping her chin to her chest, still holding one hand to her neck.

"No," Sebastian says, shaking his head, his eyes on his prey now, the ultimate predator. "No. It has to be me."

He steps forward again and crouches beside her once more. "You hurt me, and no matter how many times I told you, you didn't care. Even now, you don't see what you did as something awful, something disgusting. I guess you have to go to the grave with that knowledge, and I hope when I see you in hell you'll have a better grasp on the type of monster you’re."

Tanya blinks up at Sebastian as he pulls his gun off the desk nearby and presses it to her forehead until the back of her head is flat against the wall, trapped between the barrel and the wallpaper.

"You are evil, and I hate you," he whispers.

I turn my head as the loud crack of the gun firing cuts through the room.

I don't dare look. I can't.

Until I hear a soft sob. I look then, keeping my eyes trained on Sebastian and off the mess of Tanya in front of him.

He's on his knees, blood pooling around his pants in a slow leak.

I stand, tucking the knife in the sleeve along my forearm and approach him, keeping clear of the growing pool of blood. "It's done. She can’t hurt you anymore. No one can. We’re free Sebastian. Free and together."

He turns enough to press his head into my chest and the heavy sob he releases rattles me to the core.

CHAPTER 26

SEBASTIAN

Even as hot tears wash down my cheeks, I feel empty. Blank and endless in a way I've never felt before. Ely clutches my head to her waist, and I wrap my arms tighter around her, as tight as I can get, so tight I can barely breathe through the tears and the fabric of her shirt.

The coppery, iron scent of blood stains the air, and my knees are warm and wet with it, but that’s not something I can deal with right now. I can't even look at what I've done.Not yet.

When I shift, Ely clutches me tighter, and I do the same back. Maybe she needs to hold me as much as I need to touch her.

She's whispering to me softly, and I can't make out the words with my ear in her shirt and the other covered by her forearm, but I don't care. Just touching her and feeling her is enough right now. It's everything I need.

I'm trying to sort my emotions, this empty hollow hole with the cold rage I'd felt when I pulled that trigger. At least to figure out the bridge that got me here...from enraged to empty in two seconds flat.

Ely's fingers shift up into my hair, and she releases some of the hold she'd had on my head for the last couple of minutes.

Tears still pour down my cheeks, and I block out the shame I'd usually feel for crying in front of her. There's not even room for that in this empty ache.

There's a scuffle at the door and Ely turns to face it, my head still held tight so my back is to the doorway. A subtle shift but she's trying to protect me.

Something in my cracks deep inside, and I hold her tighter. My wife. My love.

"Did you need something?" Ely asks, her tone curt and cold.

I gently ease away enough that I can see who is at the doorway. It wouldn't be a stranger... has to be one of my friends.

Of course, Drew stands there, his eyes to his right, his face a little pale. "We heard a shot, wanted to make sure everything was okay in here."

Ely swipes at my face with her thumb, not missing a beat, her eyes never leaving Drew's face. "We're fine, but I assume you have some way of dealing with this? I want to take care of him right now, if you could handle this..." she trails off.