Ghost (Boston Underworld #3) - A. Zavarelli Page 0,92

repentant as he retrieves the syringe from the case. And under Ronan’s guidance, he injects the special blend of snake venom into Sergei’s arm.

It only takes a few moments for the effects to kick in.

Sergei begins to convulse on the table and foam at the mouth as the neurotoxins take over his body. When the paralysis sets in and his bulging eyes find mine, I lean over him so that there can be no misunderstandings between us.

“It is only the beginning.”

And then beside him, I take my seat. A spectator to his last and final hours.

There will be no violence or bloodshed from my hands today. By all outward appearances, it could even be considered a gentle death. But the pain that Sergei will feel as the venom attacks his nervous system is anything but gentle.

It is a balm to my soul, watching him suffer. And yet it means nothing at all. I will still be forced to go on. Without Talia. Knowing what I’ve done. Knowing that I failed her. That I am no better than Sergei himself.

And the only satisfaction I will have in the end is that my father is dead too.

“How long will it take?” Viktor asks as he sits down beside me.

I did not expect him to watch. But it should not surprise me. Even after all I have done, Viktor still regards me as a son. As one of his own.

“It could be hours,” I answer.

Beside me, the Reaper and Nikolai also take their seats.

And then we wait. The only sounds to break the intermittent silence are those of Sergei’s tortured groans and the shaking of the table beneath him.

It is a short event. Shorter than I had hoped.

Just as I always suspected, Sergei was weak. But this knowledge does not give me any satisfaction.

Because in this house, and in my life, the sun no longer rises.

51

Talia

“How is he?” I ask Lachlan.

He does not reply for some time. And it annoys me. I keep touching the star on my hand, and he is watching me with curious eyes. But guarded too.

“Talia, you must realize that it would be out of character for me to call him so often. He is not taking calls, anyway.”

I tap at the table again. And Mack’s watching me, but she keeps her lips zipped on the subject.

“But you said he’s a friend. Wouldn’t normal protocol be to go visit him?”

Again, Lachlan remains silent. And I realize he’s hiding something from me.

“What is it?” I ask.

He looks up at me and frowns.

“I have been to visit him,” he answers finally. “He’s as well as you could expect him to be.”

“Oh.”

I need more. I’m desperate for more. But Lachlan simply sighs.

“His father was responsible for the car bombs,” he tells me. “And he is dead now. Arman too.”

“Good,” I reply. “That’s good.”

They both look at me, and I shrug.

“I don’t mourn the loss of them,” I answer. “Alexei deserved better for a father than Sergei.”

“Yes, well,” Lachlan replies, “It wasn’t just them. Katya’s dead too. And a whole host of any other men that ever touched you.”

I blink.

And my heart aches at the thought of Alexei on his murderous rampage. I can only hope that it has given him what he needs. Some peace.

But I doubt it.

His father had always been the root of his issues. And Katya didn’t help.

They were the reason he did not trust me. The reason he told me he could never love me. And he was right.

I blink back tears, and Lachlan meets my watery gaze.

“I know you care about him,” he tells me. “But you need to make a decision, Talia. You need to decide if you can move on from this. Without him. Because I can’t keep going back there.”

The pain on Lachlan’s face guts me. Because he is hurting for Alexei. But still, he is loyal to me. I cup my face in my hands and try to pull myself together. I know he’s right. That none of this is fair to anyone.

But I still don’t know what to do.

I don’t know anything.

So I do what I’ve always done. The thing I do best.

I avoid it altogether.

52

Talia

Mack has had her baby.

A little girl.

They named her Keeva Crow. And she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. When I get a chance to hold her, it scares and thrills me.

And I think of Alexei. Again.

Lachlan was there for Mack every step of the way. He was in the delivery room, coaching her