He curled his lip. “You don’t fucking know that. I swear to God, if he so much as—”
“Nope,” I interrupted, shaking my head. “Don’t do that. Don’t let your mind go there. They’re gonna be fine.” I cracked my neck. “Clare can handle Noir.”
I felt his incredulous gaze jump to me.
“Are you fucking crazy?” he asked. “I’ve seen the shit he used to do to her.”
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel. I’d seen that shit too, but I refused to think about it. She’d asked me to trust her weeks ago, and I’d be damned if now was the moment when I broke that promise.
“He could have killed her every day for seven years,” I said. “He never did. She’s lived in that lion’s den before and come out on the other side. She’ll do it again.”
Roman scoffed, clearly not sharing my confidence. “And what about Elisabeth?”
“She’ll take care of her, too.”
“Jesus Christ, I fucking hope you’re right.” Roman banged his head back against the headrest. “You need to take my vest,” he told the ceiling.
“Keep your shit,” I grunted, weaving through traffic.
He peeled his shirt over his head and unstrapped the Velcro on his vest. “He’ll be gunning for you, Light.”
I turned off the highway, opting for a side road with less traffic. “He’s a sociopath. He’s gunning for civilization in general.”
He dropped his Rubicon vest on the center console between us. “You know what I mean. He’s got my wife, but it’s you he’s gonna be after.” His eyes darkened, and his jaw ticked. “Besides, anything happens to me, Elisabeth will be taken care of. Clare needs you. Tessa too.”
My chest tightened. He was only partially wrong.
“I need them, Leblanc. I’m going to get her back. Elisabeth too. But you’re putting that fucking vest back on or I’m shooting you myself.”
“Come on. Don’t be a dumbass. The DEA is not going to let me storm in there this time. You need this shit more than I do. Kevlar will slow a bullet, but Rubicon will stop it.”
I turned to look at him. Roman and I had butted heads more often than not. He was stubborn as a fucking mule and didn’t have any problem letting you know when he thought you were wrong. Which was basically any time you disagreed with him. But, with all of that said, he was hands down one of the best men I’d ever met.
He’d waded into the middle of this mess from the very start. Blood, sweat, and tears, he’d been there from the moment he’d found out about Tessa. He didn’t give a damn that she wasn’t his child. He’d never backed down or cowered from what seemed like the impossible task of keeping both of our families safe. The world needed more men like him. And, if it hadn’t been for his woman being at Noir’s place, I would have pulled over and left his ass on the side of the road just to ensure he woke up the next morning.
As it stood, I didn’t have that choice.
I did, however, have the choice to put him in that fucking vest to make sure he at least didn’t go home full of bullet holes.
“Then we better hope my aim is better than his.”
“Light, don’t be stupid,” he objected.
I ignored him. “We’re two minutes out. Suit up.”
Elisabeth screamed and frantically crawled away, but I felt not one ounce of remorse as Marco’s lifeless body hit the floor.
Maybe I was just as ruthless as Walt after all.
Or maybe I was just happy to rid the world of one more maniac.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was the APD’s mole who had gotten Heath’s friend killed. But, worse than that, I knew for certain he was the worthless piece of shit who had somehow gotten to my friend—my only friend—and hand-delivered her to the Devil himself. He’d more than earned his spot in Hell as far as I was concerned.
Something had broken inside me when Walt had reminded me that I was his wife.
Or, more accurately, something had been reborn.
No matter how much I hated it, I was Mrs. Walter Noir.
He’d spent years emotionally terrorizing me, but in that time, I’d learned how to manipulate him to stay alive.
I hadn’t thought I’d had any of that left in me after I’d lived in the light with Heath. But, the moment Elisabeth had walked through that door, an all-too-familiar darkness had consumed me. And, as long as Walt was alive, I’d never fully escape it.
Jail was no longer good enough. I wanted him wiped from the face of the Earth.
For the first time, I had a life to fight for.
A daughter who depended on me—and for more than just to keep her alive.