Page 24 of Vow of Silence

Keelan snorted. “You should hand her over. You make it sound like we will kill her. We might have a little fun with her, but she'd make it to Liam alive. None of us are willing to die for her.”

Anya’s face paled. I didn't think it was possible for it to get paler, yet it had.

You would think the possibility of death would have frightened the shit out of her. Instead, it was his word “fun.” What had she been through?

There was only one reason a person would have such a strong visceral reaction to a word choice like that. Bile rose in my throat. I hated to have to threaten her but she needed to give them the information before they took it. It would upset her but it was in her best interest in the end. If her father verified her betrayal, death would pale compared to what he would do to her.

She licked her lips. Well, this is goodbye.”

Wrapping my arms across my chest, I rolled my eyes. This woman never did anything the uncomplicated way. Lucky for me I expected it.

Stepping back, I nodded. “Fine. I'll go pay Vadim a visit. If he doesn't know anything, I'll kill him.”

Her lips thinned. “What? You can't do that.”

Anya lunged for me.

My hand closed around her throat. Before she could blink, I slammed her against the locker. “Princess, I can do a lot of things. Do I want to do it? No. I believe that poor bastard doesn't know shit, however, you love him and that’s a problem.”

She bared her teeth. “You asshole. You listened to my conversation.”

“If you’d genuinely loved him, you would’ve known that he was a target. You would’ve given him some valuable information which would have allowed him to live.”

Anya moved, but I tightened my fingers cutting off her air until some of the strength left her limbs.

Against my better judgement, I loosened my grip on her neck. “Don't shoot daggers at me. You made this choice.”

I walked toward the door.

She was at my back but I kept my vision on Keelan. He was the most outspoken. He always repeated what was said when he was in my presence, therefore, I knew what was being spoken around me. Inside, I was still fuming at the realization that she was in love with this boy.

What was so special about him? Her unwavering loyalty and utter devotion should go to a man who can protect, honor, and cherish her, none of which this youngster could do. She needs a man.

She needed me.

“Damn. Cian, wait.”

Keelan smirked. “Cian is impatient. We’re ready to bring him in.”

Ben laughed. “You should say a little prayer for your boyfriend. Don’t worry, Liam will send you to join him soon. You won’t feel the loss for long.”

Normally, he would be right, but not this time. I was prepared for her acquiesce, and I swiveled on my heel to face her. “Did you say something?”

“I will give you a hard drive. I don't know what's on it because I couldn’t get past the encryption. I’ll give it to you after I return from Slovakia.

Frowning, I shook my head. “You’ll give it to me before we go.”

I would make her forget about any man that had laid between her thighs. I would infect her soul until the only thing she could remember would be me.

I should do something about this obsession.

My addiction to her was a dangerous liability that I had to sate and extinguish. However, I wasn’t certain that I could. I've lived a life of sacrifice. I'm tired of existing. There's a significant difference between existing and living.

Her lips thinned. She walked over to me. “Why are you so intent on getting the hard drive? The Irish is not at war with the Albanians. Arkan has done everything right thus far. Getting him out of the way will take more than a hard drive.”

I shrugged. “You’ve managed to turn him in to the BIH. They’ve hired a substantial number of men to assassinate you. It means whatever is on the drive is valuable.”

She snorted. “Well, that was a mistake. I wasn't out of the clear when I did it. I don't fear death, but I have responsibilities. My sister needs to be out of harm's way and I hadn't planned to die yet.”