Oath Bound
Page 121
With Kris’s hand in mine, I stared down at Julia’s body, trying to decide what I should be feeling. I’d shot an unarmed woman. I hadn’t even hesitated. If Kori’s bullet hadn’t killed her, mine would have.
What did that say about me? That I was more like the Towers than even Julia had known? That I’d just put an end to their reign of brutality?
Was it even possible to end violence with violence?
“Hey.” Kris took my chin and stared into my eyes. “Are you okay?” he said after less than a second. “She deserved much worse, Sera. Kori would have let her suffer first, if she hadn’t wanted to take the death off your hands. Do not feel guilty for this.”
“I don’t.” And that was part of the problem.
“You saved a lot of people today. Everyone Julia would have gone on to hurt owes you a thank-you.”
“I know.” And I did know. Julia had to die. Someone had to kill her. Someone had to step up and do what needed to be done. The part that bothered me was that I didn’t feel guilty. I felt...nothing.
Nothing but disappointment. I’d wanted a confession. Without one, her death felt...empty.
“Is it over?” Kenley asked, and I turned to see her staring at Julia with one arm around Vanessa’s waist, her free hand holding her torn, blood-splattered shirt closed.
“Almost.” I held my hand out, and she let go of Van to take it. “I’m Sera, by the way.” She was a slightly shorter, slightly curvier version of Kori, without the obvious hard edges. Except for the fresh bruise on her cheek.
“Kenley.” She shook my hand, then shot a questioning glance at her brother.
“Jake’s biological daughter.” His arm tightened around me. “Sera just inherited...well, nearly everything Jake had.”
Her curious gaze found me. “Including the contracts?”
“Especially the contracts,” Kris said.
“But I’m not going to keep them.” I glanced back to see Olivia, Ian and Cam unrolling sheets of black plastic, while Kori came in from the darkened hallway with a gallon jug of bleach in each hand, rolls of duct tape climbing her thin forearms like bracelets. “I don’t want any part of this. I’m going to release them. All of them.”
“You’re serious?” Kenley stared at me in disbelief. “You don’t want...the power?”
I shook my head. “All I wanted was justice, and Kris was right—it didn’t live up to my expectation.” Without a confession, even though Julia’s death had no doubt saved countless people from years of suffering, I had no closure.
I would have to recover from their deaths the long way. With time. And Kris, and the new family that had welcomed me into their fold.
“So, you’re just going to give it all up?” Kenley was obviously having trouble with the concept. Or with believing me.
“Yeah.”
“Not the money!” Kori called, helping Ian heft a dead Tower guard onto a sheet of black plastic. “She’s going to keep the money. And if we’re all very nice to her, she may use it to help us take down—” she glanced at Cam and Liv, then seemed to be rethinking whatever she’d been about to say “—other hostile organizations. There’s no better way to put blood money to use than by taking down the remaining bad guys.”
The Cavazos syndicate, obviously. But if Cam and Liv had any real knowledge of that, they’d have to report it. If I understood correctly.
“But we can discuss that later.” Kori folded plastic over the dead man and Ian ripped a long piece of duct tape from his roll.
Kenley laid her hand on my arm. “Sera, if you’re serious...there’s a short cut. It wasn’t possible before, because neither Julia nor Jake wanted to break the seal, but if you really want to...I can... Well, I can just remove your will from the contracts I sealed for Jake.”
“All of them?” I glanced at Kris for confirmation, but he seemed as surprised as I was.
“All of them at once.” Kenley gave me a shy smile. “I would have done it years ago, if I could have, but it can’t be done unless the instigating party wants to end the agreement.”
I stared at her, stunned. “I do. Let’s do it.” The sooner the better. I hated knowing there was still a target on my back—from Cavazos—and I didn’t know how to protect myself from him like Jake and Julia had.
But then, I’d outlived them both. Surely that meant something.
Kenley frowned apologetically and looped her arm through Van’s. “I’m pretty tired right now, but...”
“Give us a day to get her fed and rested.” Vanessa squeezed Kenley’s arm and gave me the brightest smile I’d yet seen from her. “We’ll do it in the morning. Then this will be over.”
“It’ll never be over. Not as long as there’s anyone out there willing to step into Tower’s shoes.” Kori’s proclamation was followed by another rip of duct tape. “But this is a start.”
“She’s right.” Kris leaned in and kissed me, then whispered into my ear, “This is a damn good start.”
* * *
We spent most of that day cleaning up the massacre. Wrapping bodies in plastic, bleaching and scrubbing the concrete and getting rid of every sign that Julia and her men had ever been there. And that we had.
If I hadn’t already harbored a moral objection to murder, I would have developed a labor-based objection founded solely on the amount of work it took to get rid of the evidence.
What did that say about me? That I was more like the Towers than even Julia had known? That I’d just put an end to their reign of brutality?
Was it even possible to end violence with violence?
“Hey.” Kris took my chin and stared into my eyes. “Are you okay?” he said after less than a second. “She deserved much worse, Sera. Kori would have let her suffer first, if she hadn’t wanted to take the death off your hands. Do not feel guilty for this.”
“I don’t.” And that was part of the problem.
“You saved a lot of people today. Everyone Julia would have gone on to hurt owes you a thank-you.”
“I know.” And I did know. Julia had to die. Someone had to kill her. Someone had to step up and do what needed to be done. The part that bothered me was that I didn’t feel guilty. I felt...nothing.
Nothing but disappointment. I’d wanted a confession. Without one, her death felt...empty.
“Is it over?” Kenley asked, and I turned to see her staring at Julia with one arm around Vanessa’s waist, her free hand holding her torn, blood-splattered shirt closed.
“Almost.” I held my hand out, and she let go of Van to take it. “I’m Sera, by the way.” She was a slightly shorter, slightly curvier version of Kori, without the obvious hard edges. Except for the fresh bruise on her cheek.
“Kenley.” She shook my hand, then shot a questioning glance at her brother.
“Jake’s biological daughter.” His arm tightened around me. “Sera just inherited...well, nearly everything Jake had.”
Her curious gaze found me. “Including the contracts?”
“Especially the contracts,” Kris said.
“But I’m not going to keep them.” I glanced back to see Olivia, Ian and Cam unrolling sheets of black plastic, while Kori came in from the darkened hallway with a gallon jug of bleach in each hand, rolls of duct tape climbing her thin forearms like bracelets. “I don’t want any part of this. I’m going to release them. All of them.”
“You’re serious?” Kenley stared at me in disbelief. “You don’t want...the power?”
I shook my head. “All I wanted was justice, and Kris was right—it didn’t live up to my expectation.” Without a confession, even though Julia’s death had no doubt saved countless people from years of suffering, I had no closure.
I would have to recover from their deaths the long way. With time. And Kris, and the new family that had welcomed me into their fold.
“So, you’re just going to give it all up?” Kenley was obviously having trouble with the concept. Or with believing me.
“Yeah.”
“Not the money!” Kori called, helping Ian heft a dead Tower guard onto a sheet of black plastic. “She’s going to keep the money. And if we’re all very nice to her, she may use it to help us take down—” she glanced at Cam and Liv, then seemed to be rethinking whatever she’d been about to say “—other hostile organizations. There’s no better way to put blood money to use than by taking down the remaining bad guys.”
The Cavazos syndicate, obviously. But if Cam and Liv had any real knowledge of that, they’d have to report it. If I understood correctly.
“But we can discuss that later.” Kori folded plastic over the dead man and Ian ripped a long piece of duct tape from his roll.
Kenley laid her hand on my arm. “Sera, if you’re serious...there’s a short cut. It wasn’t possible before, because neither Julia nor Jake wanted to break the seal, but if you really want to...I can... Well, I can just remove your will from the contracts I sealed for Jake.”
“All of them?” I glanced at Kris for confirmation, but he seemed as surprised as I was.
“All of them at once.” Kenley gave me a shy smile. “I would have done it years ago, if I could have, but it can’t be done unless the instigating party wants to end the agreement.”
I stared at her, stunned. “I do. Let’s do it.” The sooner the better. I hated knowing there was still a target on my back—from Cavazos—and I didn’t know how to protect myself from him like Jake and Julia had.
But then, I’d outlived them both. Surely that meant something.
Kenley frowned apologetically and looped her arm through Van’s. “I’m pretty tired right now, but...”
“Give us a day to get her fed and rested.” Vanessa squeezed Kenley’s arm and gave me the brightest smile I’d yet seen from her. “We’ll do it in the morning. Then this will be over.”
“It’ll never be over. Not as long as there’s anyone out there willing to step into Tower’s shoes.” Kori’s proclamation was followed by another rip of duct tape. “But this is a start.”
“She’s right.” Kris leaned in and kissed me, then whispered into my ear, “This is a damn good start.”
* * *
We spent most of that day cleaning up the massacre. Wrapping bodies in plastic, bleaching and scrubbing the concrete and getting rid of every sign that Julia and her men had ever been there. And that we had.
If I hadn’t already harbored a moral objection to murder, I would have developed a labor-based objection founded solely on the amount of work it took to get rid of the evidence.
