Reign of Wrath (Dirty Broken Savages #3)(110)

My stomach rolls.

The way he says it makes it clear he doesn’t really care one way or another. He has his sick interest in me, but he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot me right here and drop my body in the water along with Carter’s.

Gage, Priest, Ash, and Knox wouldn’t let that happen without a fight, and they’d all end up dead too.

It would be just another night for Alec Beckham, I bet.

I don’t want to have to make this choice, but I don’t see any other option. He’s not going to let us walk away without agreeing to his deal, and I want to get out of here alive.

I want all of us to get out of here alive.

Licking my lips, I drag in a deep breath. It feels like I’m choking on glass, but I get ready to force out the words to agree to his bargain. To give him what he wants.

But I should’ve known that would be too fucking easy.

Alec speaks again before I can say anything.

“Of course, I’ll need proof that you’re prepared to be loyal to the society,” he says. “A toll must be paid before you can join. You have to prove yourself.”

I don’t know what more he could possibly want from me. I hate this man and everything he stands for, and the idea of forgetting about what he put into motion for me and my sister is almost impossible. I’m always going to hate him, even if I do agree to join his society. Killing Julian should have been enough to prove I can do whatever needs to be done, but apparently, he wants more.

I lift my chin, staring at him almost defiantly, waiting for him to tell me what the fuck he wants.

Alec’s condescending smile doesn’t waver, and he shifts his gaze away from me for just a second, taking in the sight of the four men flanking me.

“You need to shoot one of these men,” he says finally. “One of your Kings of Chaos. To kill, of course.”

What the fuck?

My blood runs cold with horror. Of all the things he could have asked for, I was not expecting that. There’s no way I can do it.

I shake my head, feeling numb and desperate.

“Are you fucking crazy? No. I can’t—I can’t do that,” I tell him, the words stumbling off my tongue, jerky and staccato. “No.”

There has to be another way out of this, but my rattled mind isn’t coming up with anything. Nothing that doesn’t end with us dead, anyway. Even if I could somehow manage to take out Alec, his men have us surrounded. There’s no fucking way we could get away from them all without one or more of us getting shot dead.

Finally, the disconcerting smile drops from Alec’s face, but it’s replaced by angry disappointment. He shakes his head, making a tsking noise like I’m a naughty child that he caught with her hands in the cookie jar.

“Saying no isn’t really an option here, little lamb,” he says. “If you say no, then I’ll kill them all anyway. Including you. Think about this before you do something you won’t live to regret.”

I turn to look at the four men who flank me, searching their faces—hoping one of them has some idea, some plan that we can use to get away from all of this.

But there’s nothing.

I come up with nothing over and over again, and judging from the strained looks on all of their faces, they don’t have anything either.

Then Gage steps toward me. One of Alec’s men makes a move when Gage moves, but he doesn’t attack.

“River,” Gage murmurs, his voice soft. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

I frown, trying to figure out what fucking part of this is okay. We’re trapped in a sick game with a man who holds all the cards. A man who just killed someone, and who had no qualms about sending me and my sister into the lion’s den years ago. I have no doubt that Alec could shoot each one of us between the eyes and sleep soundly tonight, so I can’t see how we can talk our way out of this or fight our way out.

I don’t see any way out without someone dying.

Gage’s gun is still in his hand, hanging by his side, and I know the only reason he hasn’t used it to try to get us out of this is the fact that Alec has us so fucking outnumbered. We really are trapped, and thinking about that makes me really start to panic. For a second, I feel like that helpless child again, like the little lamb Alec keeps calling me.

The reality of the situation hits me all at once, all of it crashing down on me—the impossible choice that’s staring me in the face.

I have to kill one of them.

But I can’t.

And how the fuck would I even choose? How would I be able to live with myself after that?

“No,” I tell Gage, shaking my head. “No. I can’t do this. I can’t lose anyone else. Not after losing Hannah twice! No.”

My voice breaks on Hannah’s name, and I feel sick to my stomach.

So much loss. So much death.

I can’t bear any more. I can’t.

Gage’s face softens a little and he shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, River,” he murmurs. “I really am.”

“Why?” I mumble back. “For what?”

“I truly am a selfish bastard. Because I’d rather die than live in a world without you in it.”

He holds his gun out, handing it to me, but I just stare at it, mute and in shock. When I don’t take it, Gage grabs my hand and wraps my fingers around the barrel, holding them in place with his own hand.