24. Sebastian
CHAPTER 24
SEBASTIAN
W hen you have everything you could ever want, it's hard to find something worth wishing for. Tanya's death has always been at the forefront of my mind, something within grasp and yet so far away. But now, after watching Ely face her demons and knowing she's gotten her wish, that she’s seen her tormentor pay…I can't help but feel a sense of pride and joy.
She’s escaped her prison; now it’s time to heal.
And now it’s time for me to get my revenge.
Nobody moves, and nobody says anything. We all stare at the ruin of the sheriff's skull, almost as if we are waiting to see if he will sit back up and spew more hateful words. He doesn't, of course.
Drew, Lee, and Aries stand on the outskirts of the room, all of them wearing some variation of a shocked—but not displeased—expression. I turn my focus to Ely. She slowly lowers the gun to her side, the muzzle pointing at the floor. Her lips are parted, her eyes wide and glassy, a kind of sadness lingering in her features. This is the final nail in the box holding all the memories of her past. I step toward her, and she shifts to the side, keeping herself out of reach.
Lee breaks the ice first, "I guess we all know now that she does in fact know how to use that thing." No one says anything, and Lee releases a harsh laugh and slams himself into the chair, snatching the bottle of bourbon off the desk as he does.
Aries moves toward the door to keep guard and watch.
Tanya shifts on the floor, flat on her belly now, crawling toward the open door. I ignore her; she's not going to get very far with Aries there and Drew only a few steps away from him. My need for revenge calls to me like a siren’s song, but I need to ensure Ely is okay before I do anything else. Closing the distance between us, I wrap my arms around her and hold her to my chest.
"Don’t do that, Little Prey. Don’t shut me out."
The gun falls to the floor when she releases it, and I spot tiny red splatters of blood on her cheeks and neck. Shit. We are going to have to scrub every inch of this room by the time we’re done. Her features remain as if she’s frozen in time. Shock. I hold onto her a little tighter, clutching her head to my chest to keep her still and steady. "It's okay. You did so good. I know you didn’t get an apology, but in the end he learned his lesson the hard way.”
The dam of emotions breaks, and a painful sob wrenches from her chest. It's loud and unyielding, and when her legs give out beneath her I bear her weight, keeping her upright in my arms. Moving towards the couch, I gently sit her down on the old worn leather. She folds into herself, wrapping her arms tight around her middle, her shoulders and head slumped.
Crouching down I whisper, "Talk to me, Ely. Say something, anything."
"I….I killed him. I can’t believe I killed him.” She looks up, panic and fear swirling in her eyes. “We’re all going to go to jail, and it’s because of me, because of me!!!” She sucks a shallow breath into her lungs. "Oh my God; I killed him."
She starts rocking back and forth, her body trembling. "I killed him. I killed him. I killed him."
She had a similar reaction after Yanov, but it wasn’t as bad as this. I ease my hand down her back and cradle her tight to my chest. "Shhhh, breathe. Breathe for me.” I try to soothe her. “There’s nothing that money can’t buy, or fix. Not in his circles, or mine. Do you understand? I'll take care of this. I'll take care of you. Trust me."
There's a scuffle at the door, Tanya having made it through the door. When I turn to see what’s going on I spot Aries dragging her back into the room by the neck of her dress. Tanya sputters, half choking, half coughing as she lands on the floor in a heap. I watch as her gaze darts to the discarded gun and back to me. I can’t blame her for trying…but there’s no point. A monster like her deserves to get the same treatment as those she hurt.
She dives for the gun, but Aries is there, too, and the moment her fingers ghost the butt of the gun his boot comes crashing down on her hand.
“I’ll be taking that.” He smiles and reaches down to retrieve the weapon.
With the gun in hand he steps away, and Tanya rolls back, wailing, clutching her most likely broken hand to her chest.
“You broke my hand!” She wails.
I turn back to face Ely. "I know you’re afraid, and I won’t tell you that you shouldn’t be. I don’t have that right. But I will tell you that nothing that happens today will leave this room. None of them will say anything to anyone. We're a family, a brotherhood.”
"Your family?" she whispers.
I tilt her chin up and lean down so I'm only an inch from her lips. "And yours. Any one of them would die to keep you safe because they know if you die, I die. Same with Bel. You belong to me. To us. And no one is going to hurt you ever again, not without suffering the consequences."
That response seems to connect with her and a little bit of the panic in her features dissipates. “Yes, come back to me.” I murmur, soothing her until she stops shaking. "I’ve got you. Forever. And I’m so fucking proud of you, Elyse. So fucking proud."
She hums in approval of my praise, and I slowly untangle myself so I can look her in the eyes again. “Are you okay to stay, or do you want to go and be with Bel?”
Her gaze flicks from mine, and I know without a doubt she’s looking at Tanya. "No, I want to stay. I should be here, to support you, to remind you it’s all going to be okay.”
I nod in understanding. We'll comfort each other once we make sure our family is safe. I press my lips to Ely’s one last time before I pull away completely. As I come to stand Drew grabs the Sheriff's coat and hauls his body out the door, leaving it in the foyer.
Our gazes collide when he steps back into the room. "Didn't want to ruin your rug anymore than it already was."
“I think at this point I’ll be buying a new rug.”
“Good call.” Lee adds.
Tanya lets out a low, moaning sob bringing our attention back to her. "What are you going to do? What do you want from me?"
If only she knew how much I want to simply pick up that gun and be rid of her. But I can’t. Like Ely's dad, she needs to understand and face what she's done. Unfortunately for Tanya, I'm willing to go a lot farther than Ely did to make that happen.
Turning from Ely, I focus the entirety of my attention on her, and I don’t know if it’s the expression I wear or the fact that she knows she’s not leaving the room alive, but she starts to sob.
Her tears mean nothing to me. After all, mine never meant a fucking thing to her.
"Please," Tanya begs. "Please. I'll do whatever you want. I'll go away. I'll drop the charges and you'll never see or hear from me again. Please. Please. Sebastian. Please."
It's my name on her lips that breaks me. The anger, the fear, the shame bubbling to the surface threaten to take me back down when they recede again.
“Where’s your faithful watchdog now, Tanya?” I ask.
Her sobs hesitate. “Marcus? I got rid of him a long time ago…it was you I wanted, Sebby?—”
I pin her with a cold glare. "You don't get it, Tanya."
"I'll do anything. Whatever you want. Just please, don’t kill me."
I take a menacing step toward her. "You don't get it, Tanya," I repeat. "I never wanted a goddamn thing from you. Not your breath in my face, not your body against mine. Not that worthless cunt you think is worth its weight in gold. I didn’t want any of it.”
She blinks up at me, mascara streaking her cheeks in dark rivers. "What? That's what this is about? I thought you were going to kill me for pressing charges against you.” Her throat bobs. “You're pissed because we had sex?" Something hard enters her tone, and my stomach churns.
"We didn't have sex," I snarl.
I clench my hands into tight fists and try to gain some type of control over my emotions. Looking back at Ely, I see her eyes are clear now, the tears gone. Fuck. If I keep talking to Tanya I'm going to do something that will make Ely hate me. If I can get her out of here, if she doesn't witness what I'm capable of, maybe I’ll still be able to have the happily ever after I deserve.
War rages inside of me. Tanya deserves the worst of the worst, but I don’t know if doing this will set me free or banish me to the dark all over again. If that happens, I’ll never be worthy of Ely’s love. I’ll never be free, even if Tanya is dead.
“Talk to me.” Ely’s soft voice meets my ears.
I stare at her for a long moment, trying to figure out what I want to tell her. I’m weak. So fucking weak. “Tell me not to do it.”
She shakes her head and takes a couple deep breaths. "No. I can’t. Not knowing everything she's done to you, and that’s just what you’ve shared with me. I don’t know everything… .”
"Someday I’ll tell you. Just not right now, not today."
She nods. "I understand. If anyone does, I do, right?"
I nod once, my chest almost bursting with the love and pride I feel for her. "You might not see me the same after you witness this.”
She smiles, and it warms me from the inside out. “I love you, Seb. The good parts, the bad parts, the broken and chipped pieces. All the pieces make you who you are, and I’d never want you to be anything but who you’re meant to be.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m more than sure. Together. ’Til death.”
I smile, my confidence in my ability to face this and end it for good restored by her simple faith in me."Last chance, Little Prey. Do you want to go upstairs and wait for me?"
She shakes her head no. “Do your worst, Sebastian. Show me all your dark, depraved sides, and I'll lead you back to the light.”
I unbutton my shirt sleeves, slowly rolling them up my forearms, and train my gaze on a trembling Tanya. I hold my hand out for the gun, and Aries steps forward slapping it into my hand.
“I’ll lead you back to the light…”
I put all my hope into her words, then I cross the room and crouch down in front of Tanya.
Her expression fills with horror, but there’s no room for and I slip into that dark place in my mind where nothing and no one can touch me. With the muzzle of the gun, I tilt Tanya’s chin up and force her to look at me.
"It’s time for us to have a little chat."