I heard the sound of a door being knocked down and then Mack was yanking me by my hair. My eyes focused on the figure standing across from me, and it took every bone in my body to not cry out in happiness as our eyes connected. His were void of all emotion. A cold, hard stare was all I saw, spiking my fear more as the hold Mack had on me grew tighter.

Zerro said nothing to Mack’s welcoming, and as the gun came into view, I thought I saw a sliver of fear fill his eyes, but as fast as I saw it, it was gone.

“Come to collect your whore?” Mack’s voice boomed in my ear as he cocked the gun against my head. I knew there was no way of getting out of it this time. This was far different from the time Zerro had held a gun to my head.

“My whore?” Zerro’s face turned business-like as he raised an eyebrow up in questioning. My eyes lingered to Jared, who was standing behind and to the right of Zerro. Why would he bring him?

“Yes, this one right here, the one with a bullet cocked and loaded for her. She fucked Devon—you know that, right? You remember Devon, right?” The way he said it made it seem like he didn’t know Devon was working with us… Or maybe he did. Time stood still as Zerro covered the distance between us. His eyes stayed on Mack—even though I wanted nothing more than for him to stare at me.

I didn’t dare move. I knew Mack wasn’t fucking around. He would shoot me at point blank range just to make a fucking point.

“Did he enjoy her tight pussy?” he asked smirking. My own heartbeat sped up as I realized what he had said. This had to be a joke. He had to be playing or something. There was no way he was actually getting ‘buddy-buddy’ with him.

“Well, not the reaction I was expecting, but why don’t you ask him yourself,” Mack said gesturing to Devon, who had just entered the scene coming through the bedroom door he had been keeping me in.

His pants were unbuckled, and he buckled them as if to emphasize he had in fact fucked me. I looked innately at Zerro waiting for something to show on his face. Something showing anger or rage. Something that said this was a trick.

“See…” Zerro paused looking down at me then to Mack. “She means nothing to me. Though her cunt is one of my favorites, she’s not worth actually keeping around for a long time.” What? What did he say? I was stunned…

My chest was shaking with every breath, and as I heard the words over and over again in my head, I felt the slap of them against my skin.

“She means nothing to you?” Mack asked as surprised as I was. This had to be a joke. My mind slipped back to the shower. The words he had said…

“Remember, no matter what, I love you, Bree. I always have, I always will. Okay?”

That must be why he was doing this. He wanted me to make sure I knew, even though he was going to have to hurt me, he still loved me.

“Nope. Not a fucking thing. Now let’s settle this like men.” Zerro said as he dismissed me and the entire conversation.

“You’re bluffing,” Mack said. I could hear the smile in his voice as he pushed me forward and to the ground. My knees hit against the concrete so hard my teeth rattled. Tears sprang from my eyes falling slowly down my cheeks.

“Bluffing? I think you of all people would know if I were bluffing Mack.” Zerro’s voice was in full command mode. I prayed silently Mack hadn’t called his bluff.

“That’s just it. I know you. You’re bluffing. I know it because I watched you. I knew the look you had in your eyes because it was one I had in mine not too long ago.” Mack sounded like he was headed down memory lane, and I didn’t want to hear about the carnage it took to make him so sick and twisted.

“Move on from it, Mack. I didn’t know you were together. It didn’t matter anyway. She had to die.” She had to die? Who was she?

“You made me kill her, Alzerro. You made me kill the woman I loved. I pleaded with you to let her live, and you still made me pull the trigger.” Mack was screaming, and I felt the gun at the back of my head again as he pushed it against my scalp hard. For a small moment, I allowed myself to feel sorry for him. A tiny shred of me understood his pain, but like I told Zerro, we all had a path to choose. He chose the wrong one.

“Love is weakness, Mack. You and I both know it,” Zerro spat, his words flung hard at Mack. A loud laugh filled the room as Mack pushed me across the concrete until I was kneeling before Zerro.

“If that’s true, then kill her. If she means nothing to you, kill her. An eye for an eye as you always said.” Mack quoted Zerro as if he had memorized the very saying. I looked up at the man before me, the dark shell of who he truly was on full display. I knew, if I didn’t do something fast, all hell would break lose.

Dark whiskey colored eyes connected with my own as his gun came into view. He wasn’t really going to kill me, was he? His eyes said he was sorry, but his body. His body said he wasn’t. Killing me was a duty that needed to be done. It was then I made my final choice. I was stronger than I ever had been. With precise precision, I slid the blade of the knife I had hidden in my boot earlier down my sleeve into my hand.

“You know, even with her dead that doesn’t change things Mack. You have to die as well. You betrayed me. You went behind my back and worked with John, who was my mother’s killer. You told the FBI about us.”

As I listened to what he was saying, I secured the blade in my hand. It was heavy, and if I landed it perfectly, it would kill him. One chance, that’s all I had. Devon lied when he said I didn’t have a second chance—he had given it to me. A small smile played across my lips as I waited for Mack to speak.

“You had everything I ever wanted, and you refused to pay respect to those who had helped you get where you were. I wanted my piece of the pie. I did what I could. Then this bitch got in the way and fucked everything up. You say love is weakness, but when I watched you look at her, I saw the same look I used to give Delilah in your eyes.”

The words leaving his mouth were both vile and full of anger. I hated Mack just as much as Zerro did, but right now, listening to those words, I felt for him. I knew what had happened between him and Delilah was tragic. I knew it turned him into a monster the same way the death of Zerro’s mother did for Zerro. The only difference was Zerro had me. I could save him, but there was no saving Mack. He was broken beyond repair.

You can only be broken for so long before it gets to you—before the hate and guilt you carry around eats away at you. You could care less about being alone for the rest of your life because nothing matters to you. That’s what happened to him, and I could feel it happening to me. Blood pumped through my veins rapidly, echoing in my ears. Everything around me became white noise. The only thing I could hear was my own shallow breathing. My hands felt like they were being weighed down by bricks as a thin layer of sweat formed on them.

This wasn’t fear. No, it was preparation for war. For death. Long gone was the fear of my own death. Instead, a deep ball of anxiety formed in my chest. I was anxious, but I was also ready. Ready to deliver the monster known as Mack back to his home. To a place where maybe he could find his own peace.

My teeth were clenched together as I readied myself for the final blow. The savage desire to kill was pushing me to madness. The need for blood was overwhelming any further thought as I turned to face Mack. I knew there was a gun pointed at the back of my head, and there was a high chance I could die. It didn’t matter though.

Everything happened in slow motion as I got my footing. I clenched my fist, my nails digging into the soft flesh as I formed a hard fist. With a precision I didn’t even know I had, my fist landed hard on his balls. A rush of air left his chest as he bent over, the creases of his face filling with rage.

Without even thinking, I had plunged the knife upwards at the same time he had tumbled over in pain. The gun going off and his voice were the only sounds ringing out in the warehouse. My heart was racing as the bullet missed me by mere inches. I had no time for fear to sink in. I knew there was no going back now. I heard Zerro scream NO, as if to tell me not to do it, but I couldn’t stop. I had lost my shit and nothing would tame the beast in me having finally been set free.

My muscles tensed as I applied pressure to the knife I had lodged in his left eye. His screams only became louder, full of pain and suffering. Blood squirted out, landing across my face as I yanked the knife out. I watched Mack fall to his knees, his hands covering his eye as if he were trying to stop the blood from pouring out in masses. When I looked at him, my mind went back to all the times he treated me as if I were nothing. I couldn’t stop the urges flowing through me as I heard a little voice say ‘make him pay.’

That’s all I needed to hear. He needed to pay, and I was going to collect the payment today. I found myself walking behind him, my hand still securely wrapped around the blade. Coming to a halt directly behind him, my free hand snaked through his hair and jerked his head back. Whispering in his ear as I placed the blade at his throat, I asked him, “Do you remember all the times you threatened to slit my throat—after you fucked me, of course?”

My voice held so much pain I could barely recognize it as my own. A rumble sounded in his voice as I heard the mumbling of the word bitch, which only fueled the roaring fire inside of me. “Bitch? Hmm... I guess Zerro taught you something, after all, huh? Die with honor it is.” Those were the last words I said to Mack as I roughly dragged the knife across his neck.

A gurgle sounded in his throat as I threw him forward with the little bit of strength I had left. Time stood still as I loomed over his body, blood covering his face and neck as it slowly dripped to the cement floor. I watched him fight to breathe, the rise and fall of his chest coming and going as fast as he could inhale and exhale.

A breath escaped me as I watched the light leave his undamaged eye. I had killed him. “Love always conquers, asshole,” I whispered more to myself as I looked down at my hand covered in my enemy’s blood. I think everyone in this room knew I needed to do this. I needed to be the one to take Mack out because no one tried to stop me. Not when I stabbed him in the eye and not when I sliced his throat.

I knew the moment his arms wrapped around mine as if he never thought he would see me again. His lips kissed at any skin he could get his mouth on, and I sighed against him. Relief flooded me and tears fell from my eyes. Happiness wasn’t something I had felt for months, and with Mack dead, I knew there was a chance I could do this.

“Do we leave him?” Devon asked. This whole time I was convinced it was Devon who had been on the wrong side.

“Yes,” Zerro said, pulling the blade from my blood stained hand. I shuddered to realize I had killed not one person, but two. This time though, I felt no remorse. Not even a morsel. Mack deserved death more than anyone.

“You gave her this?” Zerro asked eyeing the blade in his hand. There was a long far off look and a balancing of respect.

“Yes, I knew she would need it. I know you gave it to me for safe keeping, and I never was able to give it back to you. I wanted her to have it,” Devon said smiling at me. I didn’t see what the big deal was. We should be trying to get out of here.

“What’s the big deal, let’s go,” I mumbled heading toward the door where Jared was standing. He then wrapped his arms around me.

“That’s the blade his mother gave him when he was a child. It was his first throwing knife,” Jared whispered in my ear. Realization hit me at that moment—the engraving on the blade said something I didn’t understand. It was Italian. How did I not know that?

“What does it mean?” I asked without hesitation knowing Jared would know what it said.

“Per il Mio Caro Figlo,” Jared said the words with elegance as if he had always spoken the language. “It means for my dear son.”

For my dear son. I looked back toward Zerro, who had tears in his eyes. I had killed the man who had been our nightmare with the blade his mother had given him. It was kind of like his mother had been here with us this whole time.

“We need to go.” Jared interrupted the sweet moment his voice pounding in my head. I could see the flashing lights, which were basically right on top of us.

“I can’t,” Zerro said. There was nothing more in his words. Panic seized me. What did he mean he couldn’t?

“What do you mean you can’t?” Mack was dead. We could have our lives back.

“Someone has to pay for all the damage done, Bree. Someone has to turn themselves in.” Zerro eyed me, his own face hidden of any emotions.

“You… You can’t, you won’t,” I pleaded, fighting against Jared’s hold.

“I can. I have to, Bree. I want you to live a happy and healthy life without a monster like me around. I have done some really fucked up things in my life, but loving you and taking you was never one of them.”

I could feel the tears streaming down my face. “You can’t fucking do this to me,” I screamed, my fists beating against Jared.

“I have to. This is the only way you can walk out of here right now. So go. I love you. I love you so fucking much, but you had to know we wouldn’t ever get this happiness, Bree.” He was directly in front of me, and I wanted to reach out, even for a fraction of a second, to feel his skin against mine.

As if he could read my mind, he cupped the side of the cheek and kissed me with so much passion. Every word he had never said to me could be felt in that single moment.

“Take care of her, Jared,” Zerro said pulling away, giving me one once over before he gave Jared the signal to take me away. I continued to thrash back and forth screaming. I didn’t care if they found us if they took us in. I cared about Zerro.

My heart ached, and as I watched the last of his body move from my sight, it was then when I felt my heart breaking into a million pieces. He had done this to save me. To save us. Didn’t he realize I didn’t need saving—I didn’t want saving.

“Jared, you can’t let him do this,” I pleaded… Mack being dead meant nothing to me. The fact the man I love was going to be taken by the FBI without a chance of ever coming out—that’s what mattered.

“I have to, Bree. I promised him.” That was all he said. And it was then I understood. He wanted me happy—I had found my home, my family.

“Please, Jared. Please.”

“It’s done,” he said, his tone hard. He shoved me into the back seat of the SUV just as the first car came into sight. Holding me tightly against his chest so I couldn’t move, I watched as the man I loved was left behind. I stared, watching until he was nothing but a speck in my eyes. Tears streamed down my cheeks like an endless river as I prayed they would drown me. Nothing would end the pain. My chest was sliced wide open and my heart barely beating. My chest constricted as I tried my hardest to take a breath, but nothing was coming. No air would enter my lungs and I felt it. Deep down inside of me, I had lost my very reason to breathe—my heart was breaking with every absent breath.