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“I wanted to find you. Find you and kill you.”

“And you couldn’t find me, so you went after them?”

“They were a bonus. Anzû already had the idea to kill every shifter and vampire, especially after his precious woman met her mate.” Zahava pointed at Xander who stood there with his fists clenched at his sides. “But that fucking man never had a plan.Iwas the planner. The confrontation was spontaneous and then he got himself killed. Every turn, some stupid man failed me and I had to change my plans. But the moment I spotted you with the rest, I knew it was my chance.”

Something about her tone of voice caused him to shiver. “Did you kill Dr. Stevens?”

Her eyes, brown eyes that held no emotion, jerked up to meet his. “He let her go, allowed Nerissa to escape. He deserved to die for that. Draining the brake lines and a curvy road took care of him.”

Zahava was a true psychopath. Hunter had met a few in his line of work, but there was no banter with them. He had no clue how to deal with one other than put a bullet in their head. But this woman took things far beyond the crimes of those who were on listed on the government contracts. Despite her need for power or money, revenge and the thrill of killing were her ultimate goals. She never flinched when her shifters died because she knew there were more. Even Damian, her saving grace more than once, was disposable.

“Damian?”

Ara placed her finger up to her mouth and shook her head. The light faded from Damian’s wounds and his skin flooded with color.

“Where did he go?”

“That’s the difference between them andyou. They would do anything, even die, for their family. But you, you only think about yourself, care about yourself. So you demand loyalty, but you get nothing because you give nothing.

“I hated every moment of my time spent in the orphanage. Not because there wasn’t much food to eat, or the blankets were scratchy and didn’t fend off the cold. No, it was because I hated every moment with you. You demanded instead of asked. You bullied others to do what you wanted, and I’m sure that hasn’t changed. But I have a family, a mother, and a mate. And after all these years, you still have nothing,” Neri said, her tone flat and unemotional.

An inhuman screech erupted from Zahava’s throat and she ripped her broken wrist from Neri’s hold and lunged for the gun. She wrapped both hands around the frame and jerked, trying to take the gun from Neri’s grasp. Instead, Zahava’s finger slipped down to the trigger, and the gun fired with the barrel pointing at her torso.

The boom was loud in the contained room and made him flinch. But Hunter worried for Neri when her eyes widened as she stared at the woman in front of her. Zahava jerked forward as the bullet struck her chest and a second or two later, blood bloomed on her white shirt as it seeped out of the wound. The dark red sickly and spreading fast.

Zahava slumped to the side and Neri laid her on the floor as her eyes fluttered closed and she took her last breath. No one, not even Damian moved to help her. They had come into the confrontation knowing they would have to eliminate her, but she’d done it herself.

Neri stood and closed her eyes.

Are you okay, angel?

Yeah, I… well, I don’t have her death on my conscience since she pulled the trigger herself, but I expected… not this.

She took a deep breath and blew it out, and when she opened her eyes and found him standing in front of him, she smiled.

Hey.

Hi, angel.

Is it over?

Hunter glanced back toward Damian, who spotted his hard stare and held his hands up, shaking his head.

He turned back to Neri.Yeah, it’s over.

Good. Then you can marry me.Neri reached behind her and pulled out the box he’d dropped.

He shifted back and blew a sigh of relief when he noticed the ring was still intact. He dropped onto one knee, still naked.

“Neri, will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

He slid the ring on her finger before Neri dropped into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him breathless.

After tonight, he would never hesitate ever again.

“Let’s go home,” she whispered.