Chapter 45
WILLOW
He’s dead.
That thought floats through my mind as Ransom leans back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
My gaze is still locked on the large body sprawled at an awkward angle on the floor, and I have a sudden memory of Ransom telling me that it gets easier to deal with death the more you’re exposed to it—that the first time is hardest.
I hate to think of how true that is, but I don’t feel the same kind of disquieted shock or horror I felt when I saw the brothers kill Nikolai, or when Vic murdered Carl in my living room.
As I stare at the blood soaking the front of Darius Ledger’s shirt, all I feel is… relief.
It’s done. He’s gone.
He can’t hurt me or the brothers ever again.
A shiver works its way through my body, and Malice pulls me tighter against his side. My limbs are still shaking a little, leftover adrenaline coursing through me, and I almost can’t believe I’m still standing.
I almost died, today. Again.
This man—X—said he was going to kill me once he got what he wanted from the brothers, and I have no doubt that he would’ve made good on that threat.
But this time, my men came. They made it in time, rushing in and killing him before he could do more than give me a nasty bruise on my cheek. They saved me.
I blink as it hits me in a rush that I just thought of them as ‘my men.’
Is that what they are? Mine?
The truth is, I want them to be. I went from fearing these three brothers to feeling such an unbreakable connection with each of them that I can’t imagine my life without them.
Malice still has a tight grip on me, and I shift in his hold to look up at him again.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “For coming for me.”
“We always fucking will.”
My heart thunders, and I lean up to kiss him. It’s warm and full of feeling, and he cups my face with one of his large hands, his thumb sliding over my jaw. When our lips break apart, he presses his forehead to mine, and we stay like that for a second, breathing each other in.
My legs are feeling a bit more steady, so I finally step out of his embrace. As soon as Malice lets me go, I find myself in Ransom’s embrace. His blue-green eyes glint in the dim light, and he stares down at me like he never wants to stop.
“I was so fucking worried about you, angel,” he murmurs, shaking his head. “If you thought we were stalking you before, we’re gonna be fucking unbearable now.”
I laugh softly, leaning into him. “Somehow I’m not surprised.”
“You shouldn’t be,” he says. “We’re never going to let anything like this shit happen to you again. Ever.”
Tears burn the backs of my eyes at the conviction and determination in his voice. I hug him tightly, burying my face against his shoulder, then I lean up and kiss him too. It’s deep and searching, as if he’s still trying to convince himself that I really am okay. That I’m here and whole.
When he releases me, Victor steps forward, standing right in front of me.
There’s an intense look on his face, a mix of relief and turmoil. Our gazes meet, and he sucks in a ragged breath. Then, suddenly, he reaches out and pulls me into his arms.
A soft gasp falls from my lips, shock shooting through me.
The hug is stiff and a little awkward, as if he doesn’t quite know how to do it, as if this is still hard for him. He doesn’t pull me in as close as Malice or Ransom did, but his arms band around me as I rest my cheek against his chest, hugging him back.
It’s like coming home, having the three of them here, feeling the connection that flows like water between us, and the fear and adrenaline that was coursing through me finally starts to ebb for good as my mind and body come to terms with the fact that I’m safe now.
Victor holds me for several beats longer than his brothers did, as if now that he’s touched me, he doesn’t want to let go. But finally, he clears his throat and steps back, his expression shuttering a little.
“We need to get out of here,” Ransom says, drawing my attention.
“Yeah.” Malice nods, glancing around the room. “I doubt there’s anyone in this area who’d have heard the noises and called the cops, but we still need to get moving. Vic, check the body.”
All three of them slip easily into business mode, something I’ve seen them do before. Just like when they came to deal with the body at my old apartment, they divide tasks, moving quickly and efficiently.
Vic pats the corpse down, grabbing a few things from Darius’s pockets before nodding to his brothers. Then Malice and Ransom get to work wrapping the dead body in a tarp they found in the corner.
I shudder at the fact that it was there, not even wanting to think about what Darius planned to use it for.
“What do you think, Mal?” Ransom asks, dusting his hands off as he stands up. “Burn it here?”
Malice shakes his head. “Too close to the scene. We should take it farther out and dump it.”
Vic pulls his phone out of his pocket, tapping the screen a few times as he searches for something. Then he nods, looking satisfied. “There’s a place that looks viable not too far from here.”
“Perfect.”
Malice grabs the top half of the body, and Ransom picks up Darius’s tarp wrapped feet. I follow after them as they head out of the room and down the stairs.
It’s weird, seeing the place I was held hostage in now, since I had a bag over my head when I was brought in. There’s something distinctly creepy about this old, abandoned office building, but I’m grateful to be leaving it in one piece.
There’s no discussion at all of them leaving me behind or dropping me off somewhere before they go to deal with the body, and I’m glad for that, as strange as it feels to be a part of it.
I’ve seen more people die in the last few months than I had in my whole life prior, and I don’t think I’ll ever truly get used to it, even if it doesn’t shock me quite the same way it used to.
But still, there’s nothing that could make me want to leave the Voronin brothers’ sides right now, and I get the sense they feel the same way.
We drive even farther out of the city, to an empty stretch of land where it seems like there’s no one around for miles. After getting away from the main road and into a wooded area, they unload the body and dig a hole, dumping it inside before lighting it on fire.
I stand back, trying not to look too closely as the body begins to burn. My stomach turns over as smoke rises into the air, and Ransom comes and wraps an arm around me, turning me away so I don’t have to watch.
He rests his chin on the top of my head, his hand smoothing over my back, and I feel his chest rise and fall as he lets out a breath.
“Darius motherfucking Ledger,” he mumbles.
“Fucking hell. Out of all the theories I ever had about who X might’ve been, that guy never even made the list. I mean…
we all thought X had to be pretty well-connected, right?
With tons of resources to get Malice out of jail and hide his identity and all that. ”
“Yeah.” Malice narrows his eyes, glancing toward the hole with the burning body.
“But maybe that’s exactly what he wanted everyone to think.
He saw the mistakes our dad made as he tried to make a name for himself in the underworld of Detroit.
Dad couldn’t fucking stop himself from running his mouth, always talking shit and acting like more of a bigshot than he was when he couldn’t even back it up.
So maybe Darius played the opposite tactic—act like you ain’t shit so people underestimate you. ”
“It’s not a bad strategy,” Vic murmurs. “Like you said, Ransom, he was never even on our radar. He must have followed our story ever since Malice got arrested for Dad’s death.
I can imagine Dad bragging about how good I was at tech, how he’d taught us to fight, and how we were gonna help him build his empire. ”
Malice nods. “Yeah, so Darius knew we could handle all the jobs he sent us on.”
“And then he got pissed when we stopped playing his fucking game. He was probably looking for a way to regain control of the situation, to make sure he didn’t lose his control over us.
” Ransom tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear, looking down at me.
“Willow, you said he wanted to use you as leverage, right?”
I nod. “Yes. He said he was going to use me to get what he wanted from you because you care about me.”
Vic taps his thighs with his fingers, keeping the rhythm even. “So it’s possible that he thought taking Willow would put us back in line.”
“Or it might’ve been punishment,” Malice throws out. “Since he wanted Willow in the first place and we didn’t deliver. He’s obviously held a grudge about that this whole time.”
“You said…” My voice dries up, and I lick my lips and try again. “You said you were pretty sure X wanted me because I was a virgin so he could sell me or something, right?”
All three of them nod, looking grim.
“But Darius told me that he was going to kill me either way,” I point out. “Even if you gave him what he wanted, he wanted me dead. He wanted me to suffer.”
Just saying it makes my veins go cold, and I look to the smoldering remains of the fire in the hole they dug, grateful all over again that this man is dead and can’t hurt me now.
They all look pissed as fuck at the reminder of that.
“Piece of fucking shit,” Malice snarls. He spits into the hole and then starts kicking dirt back over the ashes.
With the help of some accelerant, the body burned quickly. Once the remnants are covered up, we get back into the car. It’s a mostly quiet drive back to their place, and I let out a little breath when I realize that’s where they’re taking me.
I just want to be with them right now. Even though the danger has passed, it’s the only place I feel truly safe.
“We’ll get your car later,” Ransom promises.
I blink, remembering that it’s parked near the Nordstrom. “That’s fine. I don’t need it right now.”
As soon as we get back to their place, Vic heads toward the kitchen immediately. It’s late in the day by now, and he starts making dinner, throwing himself into preparing something that smells amazing.
Ransom leads me upstairs and tells me I can shower if I want, and I’m grateful for it. Even though Darius barely touched me, I can still feel his hands on my skin and the cold press of his gun at my back.
Plus, it’s nice to be clean and wrapped up in the scents of the bath products the guys use. Ransom leaves some of his clothes on the bathroom counter for me, and once I’ve finished showering and dried off, I pull on his shirt—which is too big, but so comfortable.
The food is ready when I come back down, and we all head into the living room to eat it.
Malice puts on a movie, some mundane action flick where there are more witty one-liners than bloody shootouts, and we all relax. I’m tucked up on the couch between Malice and Ransom, and Vic sits on the floor in front of me, close enough that I could reach out and touch him.
After being kidnapped and fearing for my life, this comfortable, peaceful moment with the brothers is better than anything else I could’ve asked for.
With food and a few sips of whiskey in my belly, my tense muscles finally start to unwind. The warmth of the bodies surrounding me starts to lull me to sleep, and I guess it makes sense for my body to want to crash after how intense everything has been today.
I stifle a yawn, leaning a little into the solidness of Malice’s large frame.
He shifts a bit, lifting one arm so I can tuck myself against him, and Ransom grabs my ankles, lifting my feet onto his lap.
“You should get some rest,” he says. “You had a long day.”
“Yeah,” I mumble. “I’m definitely feeling it now.”
“Stay out here though,” Malice murmurs. He runs his fingers through my hair, and I nearly purr at how good that feels. “I’m not ready to let go of you yet, and Ransom’s bed isn’t fucking big enough for the four of us.”
I laugh, a grin stretching my face as my heart thumps approvingly at his words.
“Okay,” I whisper, yawning again. “I’ll stay here.”
It’s easier than I would have thought to fall asleep between them. Malice has his fingers in my hair, and Ransom has one hand on my ankle, his thumb rubbing slow circles against my skin.
Vic isn’t touching me, but I can feel his presence so close by, and I feel completely encased—warm and safe.
As I start to drift off to sleep, my mind wanders back to my grandmother’s offer.
Olivia wants me to give up school to help run the family estate.
She wants me to become a fully entrenched part of her world.
It’s an incredible opportunity, all things considered.
I wouldn’t have to worry about finishing my classes, choosing a career, or finding a job after college.
It would all be laid out for me, wealth and security right at my fingertips.
But it would come with a cost too. She never explicitly said it, but I know that Olivia’s offer would probably involve having to give up my connection and involvement with the Voronin brothers in some way.
The way she stressed that she wanted to see me with a man who was worthy of me made that pretty clear.
And I don’t want that.
I don’t want to let them go.
They’re too important to me now, and time and time again, they’ve proven that I’m important to them too. That they care about me and want me in their lives, even if it means they have to fight for me. Even kill for me.
So as tempting as it is to say yes to Olivia’s offer… I can’t.
I want to build my own life. I want to make something that’s truly mine.
And more and more, I feel like I could do that with these men. They’ve seen every part of me—the darkness and the light, the good and the bad—and none of it has made them turn away. Despite what Vic wrote in that note to X, they don’t see me as trash, or as worthless.
They make me feel… treasured.
The wealth and privilege that Olivia is offering would be amazing, but it would be like stepping into a pair of shoes that don’t fit quite right. I would always feel clumsy and out of place, trying to keep up and wondering what people in her circle really thought of me.
That’s not where I belong.
This is.
Right here.