Chapter 25
WREN
On the ride back to Seth’s, my throat was so tight I could barely speak. However, I was able to tell Seth what Ripp saw: that the guy who ran him off the road was Jagger.
The rest of the ride was just a blur of muffled voices and trying to keep my anger from exploding all around me.
I felt like, at any moment, I would go insane.
The pain in my chest was excruciating. All the grief I’d suppressed within the depths of my soul wasn’t far from bursting through the wall.
I was afraid of what I’d do. Never have I felt so out of control.
The second Seth pulled into the garage, I bolted out of the car and went straight inside to his gym.
My hands weren’t wrapped, but I didn’t care.
I pounded on the punching bag as hard as I could, my muscles screaming at me to stop.
I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep beating the bag and pretend it was Nikolai’s face that I was crushing underneath my fist. The sound of my fists pounding against the bag echoed throughout the gym.
It was a rhythmic beat that matched the palpitations in my chest. I didn’t care about the pain in my knuckles or the sweat pouring down my face.
All I wanted was to get out all my anger and frustration.
To let it all out until there was nothing left inside of me.
The problem was that nothing was going to help, not until Nikolai had paid for what he’d done.
The anger inside me was so volatile that I feared losing myself if I didn’t let it out.
My arms burned like fire as I hammered the punching bag, and I couldn’t hold in my pain any longer.
The scream that erupted from my lungs shook me to my very core.
I collapsed onto the mat, gasping for air as my body trembled with unbridled rage.
My mind was a blur, consumed by thoughts of Nikolai and the injustice he had subjected me to.
The only thing that kept me grounded was the feel of the cool rubber beneath me, the sweat that soaked through my clothes, and the faint sound of the air conditioning blowing out of the vents.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. But as I exhaled, I felt a pair of hands on my body. Seth’s scent engulfed me, and I couldn’t hold in my pain any longer.
Tears streamed down my face, and I cried harder than I’d ever cried before. Seth held me and I squeezed him back, knowing it was time to tell him everything. Ripp getting targeted was all my fault. Nikolai needed to be dealt with once and for all. We couldn’t wait for him to make another move.
“Let it out, Wren,” Seth murmured. “You’ve kept it bottled up for way too long.”
Closing my eyes, I could see Parker’s smiling face, and my heart ripped apart even more. I buried my face in Seth’s chest.
“It hurts so fucking bad.”
Seth sat back and grabbed my face, forcing me to look at him. I didn’t want him to see me cry, but the tears kept coming.
“I know it hurts,” he said, his hazel eyes searching mine, “and I know you’re furious right now and want revenge.”
That was a burning desire that I yearned for.
“I want him to suffer,” I growled. “The same goes for Jagger.”
Seth swiped my tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “They will. I can promise you that. That’s why I’m making a phone call to Nikolai tonight. I’m going to end this.”
I could see the truth in his eyes. “Before you do that, there’s something you should know.”
His expression darkened and he sighed. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
Swallowing hard, I shook my head and stood up, moving away from him. “No.” I ran my hands through my hair and hung my head, not wanting to see the betrayal in his eyes when I confessed. “Nikolai called me.”
The tension in the room exploded.
“Are you fucking serious?” he hissed. He stormed over to me and grabbed my arms. “What did he say?”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. “He gave me three options. He knew I wanted to fight him, so that was the first. If I won, of course, I wouldn’t settle for anything less than killing him. If he won, I was told I’d have to work for him. That was the second option.”
Seth’s eyes widened and his fury sent chills down my spine. “Son of a bitch! When is this supposed to take place?”
I bit my lip and it felt like I was going to be sick. “Last night,” I answered.
Seth released my arms, his fists clenching angrily at his sides. “You weren’t just playing around with me last night when you were sneaking out, were you? You were going to meet Nikolai if I didn’t stop you.”
“No,” I gasped. “I mean—” I stopped and huffed. “I originally said yes, but the longer I thought about it, I knew it was the stupidest thing I could ever do. Even if it did look like I would win the fight against Nikolai, his men would never let me kill him.”
Seth’s hands shook with rage, and he ran them through his hair. “I can’t believe this shit. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want your anger to cloud your judgment and for you to do something rash.”
His gaze narrowed. “You know me better than that, Wren. I’m not like Nikolai.”
I nodded. “I know. When I didn’t show up, he called again. You were asleep at the time. He said I wasted his time and that more people would suffer because of me.”
My lips trembled and I felt the overwhelming surge of grief returning to the surface. Seth’s expression softened, and he closed the distance between us.
“Ripp was attacked because of me. He could’ve died.”
Seth clasped my face and sighed. “But he’s alive. Now, tell me what the third option was.”
I lifted my hands to cover his. “He wanted me to turn you over to him.”
Seth chuckled darkly and dropped his hold on me, his gaze averting to the floor. “And what would you get in return?”
“My freedom,” I replied. “And the freedom of all my friends on his revenge list.”
Seth’s eyes shot back to mine. “You gave that up for me?”
I scoffed. “It’s not like I could trust Nikolai to honor his word anyway.”
Seth pulled me close, his arms wrapping around my waist. His gaze felt like a physical touch, and I shivered in anticipation.
“But what if he did honor the deal? Would you have turned me in?” He breathed a ragged sigh into my hair, and I could feel his heart beating through our embrace.
“No,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around his neck.
Every inch of me felt alive as I moved closer to him, our bodies flush together. His lips hovered just inches away from mine, and I could almost taste the words he was about to say.
“Why not?”
His voice was heavy with longing, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss him and tell him how much I loved him. But before I could do that, I needed to hear it from him first.
“I want to hear you say it,” he said softly, closing the gap between us as his lips brushed against mine. “I want to hear you say you love me. Because there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you.”
The fire in his eyes made my breath catch in my throat. “What?”
My mind raced with possibilities and hope filled my chest. He paused for a moment before speaking again.
“I love you, Wren. I’m in love with you to the point it terrifies the hell out of me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Hell, I never thought I would. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”
I’ve never had anyone love me like that. I also never knew how amazing it would feel to hear it.
“Same,” I whispered, hoping he could see the truth in my eyes. “That’s why I couldn’t give you over to your brother. I’m in love with you, too.”
Seth’s grip tightened around my waist as he pulled me even closer to him. His eyes bore into mine as if trying to see every inch of my soul.
“This changes things, Wren.”
“How so?” I asked.
He slid his hands up and down my back, making my body tremble.
“I can’t have you going after my brother.
Keeping you safe and away from him is the only thing I care about.
I know you want revenge for him killing Parker, but I need you to let me handle this.
” His gaze darkened. “Let me get the revenge for you. I promise he’ll suffer for what he did. ”
Seth had never let me down, and I knew in my heart that I could trust him. I never thought I’d be capable of letting someone in. The second I nodded, he crushed his lips to mine. I melted against him, loving how it felt to be in his arms.
When I broke from the kiss, Seth pressed his forehead to mine. “It’s time we made our move.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine at the intensity of his words. He was a man of action, but this was different. This was a whole new level of danger.
“What are you going to do?”
By the sheer fury in his golden-hazel eyes, I knew whatever his plan was, it would be big.