15. What needs to be done – Atticus
15
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
ATTICUS
W hy do I always have to be the bad guy?
I pull my gun from the safe beneath my desk and kick it shut, falling into the seat at my desk to check and load it before leaning back and setting it in my lap. Swiveling to my monitors, I bring up every camera feed we have. They don’t cover the entire property, but they do cover the entire perimeter around the house and the entrance to our drive. It’s enough that I’ll be able to see if she tries to make a run for it.
The weight of the sleek metal in my lap makes me fucking antsy and it’s going to be a study in patience to stay here and watch the feeds instead of working off the extra energy in the gym. It’s a poor substitute for a warm cunt and the prearranged agreement that I can do whatever I want to it, but I respect Eli too much to parade a naked woman through this house before he’s ready.
Because of it my focus is shot, my patience is nonexistent, and I swear my dick’s about to dry up and snap off.
My leg bounces beneath the desk as I double-check that the motion sensors are all switched on and their sensitivity is turned all the way up. It means I’ll get an alert for every squirrel and bunny rabbit that comes within a hundred feet of the house, but it’s better than missing something.
I sigh heavily, watching Sev drag the corpse of Aurora’s ex-boyfriend around to the garage at the side of the house, leaving an ugly trail of red the whole way around the building that he better fucking get rid of.
The world lost one more abusive fuckhead today and I’m not going to lose any sleep over that, but what I will lose sleep over is the fact that Sev killed the bastard right in front of Aurora. He didn’t even attempt to hide it. Almost like he wanted her to see.
But that’s Sev. Spontaneous. Reckless. Every moment of his existence balanced at the tip of a hairpin trigger you don’t ever want to be on the wrong side of.
He’s also the reason Eli and I are still breathing, but fuck if I’d ever tell him that. It would only justify his complete inability to step back and think for two fucking seconds before jumping straight to pulling a knife or a trigger.
He may be the reason we’re alive to keep fighting the good fight, but he’s also the reason we’ve lost more than one opportunity to get the vengeance we’re owed after what happened to Eli.
Sev drops Jesse’s legs when he reaches the back of the Jeep and pulls a pack of cigarettes from the inside of his jacket, lighting one up.
Motherfucker.
Every time I confiscate his stash, the bastard just replaces it.
As if he can somehow sense I’m watching him, he throws a middle finger to the camera above the side door and inhales nice and deep. I roll my eyes and grit my teeth, checking the rest of the feeds for the third time since I turned them on.
“She won’t come out,” Eli says, and my hand goes straight to the gun in my lap before I register his voice. Fuck . I didn’t even hear the door open.
I push myself into the desk, trying to conceal what I’m holding in my lap. Of course he chooses now to start talking normal to me. It only took Sev sending another soul to hell for him to bury the hatchet. Noted.
“No shit. She just watched Sev rearrange her boyfriend’s face with a baseball bat.”
“ Ex, ” Eli corrects me, as if it fucking matters.
I snort.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” I snap, indicating the feeds filling up every available inch of monitor real estate. “Someone has to make sure Maid Molly doesn’t go running straight to the first fucking badge she can find.”
There’s a pause before he finally says, “She won’t.”
“No?”
“Just a feeling, but I really don’t think she’ll rat.”
I click to expand a feed when it blinks red with an alert and find it’s just Sev exiting the garage with a hatchet, a gallon of bleach, and some wire cutters. “You’ll forgive me if I need a little more than your gut instinct to help me sleep tonight, Eli.”
“What are you going to do if she tries to run?”
I don’t answer. I don’t like that he’s even asking. He knows what I’ll do. It’s what I have to do. What I will always do to protect us in the ways that Sev can’t.
I’m not foolish to think something like an NDA could keep her quiet.
I’d make it quick. She wouldn’t even see me coming. She wouldn’t have to be any more afraid than she already is. Just one bullet to the back of the head. Bang. Lights out. I don’t relish the idea of it. She might’ve been the perfect bait. The opportunity we’ve been waiting for to finally settle the score.
But I will always do what’s best for us. For my family. My brothers.
“Atticus?” Eli presses, and my stomach twists.
“What does it matter? You said it yourself she won’t run.”
“Don’t hurt her.”
I may not have a choice.
“I’m serious, Atticus. I’m still fucking pissed at you for pulling that shit with my studio, and if you hurt her…”
“Then let’s hope you’re right, because if I am, I won’t have a choice and you damn well know it, Eli.”
After several long seconds, his footsteps retreat down the hall.
I lift the gun from my lap and rest my forehead against the cool barrel with a sigh. I really fucking hope he’s right, but even if she doesn’t run now, how can we trust her? And after what she just witnessed, how can we ever let her go?