His hand reached out slowly, like he expected me to bite. His fingers brushed my jaw, tilting my face toward the thin sliver of moonlight coming through the window. His thumb traced my cheekbone with a gentleness that felt dangerous.
“You’re not fighting,” he murmured.
I didn’t answer.
He leaned down, lips hovering near my ear. “I don’t trust this.”
“You don’t have to trust me,” I whispered back. “I trust you to kill. So go kill.”
His eyes narrowed. He straightened and stood there for a long moment, staring down at me like he was memorizing every inch of my face.
Then he turned and walked out.
The door clicked shut behind him.
The lock turned.
I stared at the ceiling, heart still racing.
Clip my wings.
Fine.
Birds could still run, bitch.
Chapter 9
Malachai
“I trust you to kill. So go kill.”
Her wish was my command.
I hadn’t killed anyone since Sasha.
After I finished with her, the hunger simply… vanished. Killing stopped meaning anything. The thrill, the purpose, the release — all of it went cold and gray.
Until now.
The abandoned meatpacking plant reeked of old copper, rust, piss, and fear. A perfect cathedral for what needed to be done.
Viktor Volkov hung from a motorized meat hook like a side of beef, his expensive suit soaked through with sweat. His feet dangled inches above the blood-stained concrete—decades of animal and human slaughter baked into the floor.
Kael leaned against a rusted pillar in the shadows, casually tossing a tactical knife and catching it by the blade. He looked bored.
“Why am I here when it wasyourwife who killed my brother?” Viktor wheezed, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth.
I stepped into the light. The fluorescent bulbs buzzed overhead, reflecting off my protective glasses.
“When you found out Indigo was my wife, you should’ve let it go.” I studied him—the way his chest heaved, the twitch in hisfat fingers against the chains. “Your brother was a fucking leech. His life wasn’t worth the ink it took to sign his death certificate.”
Viktor exploded, straining against the chains. “Let me down,suka! You think you can touch me? The Volkovs have connections that run deep. Deeper than that psychotic whore you married. Deeper than her thug father—”
I didn’t move. Didn’t raise my voice.
“I don’t care.” My tone stayed flat. “You’re the last male Volkov. I already killed the rest. I know the women don’t matter in your world… but if I have to kill them too, I will.”
The color drained from Viktor’s face. The arrogance cracked.