Page 80 of Her Nightshade

“No one’s killing anyone,” Callan quickly interjected.

“He might want to once he knows what Ana and I did…” Jake said, holding onto the couch now, the blood from his wound drying on his hand.

My blood began to boil. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

Jake smiled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the couch. “Nothing she didn’t already want,” he said smugly.

I inched forward, discreetly grabbing my pocket knife. “She didn’t want you. She was here to protectme,” I said through gritted teeth.

His eyebrows shot up. “And whose fault is that?” he asked mockingly as he adjusted his stance confidently. “Sure seemed like she wanted to be here when I felt her perfect pussy clench around my fingers—”

I snapped, my vision red, and without another thought, I lunged towards him as I flipped the blade out from my knife. I fisted Jake’s shirt while I held the knife up high and plunged it deep in his chest with all my strength. Callan’s hands were on my arms, pulling me back, but he was too late. Jake’s eyes widened as he looked down at the knife, collapsing to his feet.

My heart raced, and I was breathless as I watched him fall to the ground with a thud, his eyes fluttering shut, blood flooding from his body.

“Charlie! Fuck!” Callan yelled, but it sounded like he was a million miles away as I watched the life drain from Jake’s eyes.“You just turned this into a fucking murder scene, you idiot. We had him. We had the recording—”

“And it wouldn’t have been enough,” I shot back, my voice rising. “He would’ve found a way. He would’ve hurt them.”

Callan cursed under his breath, kneeling beside Jake. He pressed two fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse.

“He’s still alive,” Callan muttered, his voice grim. “But not for long.”

He stood abruptly, grabbing my shoulder and forcing me to look at him. “We don’t have time for this. We need to clean this up before anyone else shows up.”

Just as he said it, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I snatched it out, Ana’s name flashing on the screen.

I answered immediately, putting it on speaker. “Ana?”

“We’re out,” she said, her voice shaky but full of relief. “I’m driving, heading to town. I hit him, Charlie. I hit him hard, and we ran. I don’t think he’s following us.”

Her voice rooted me back to reality, her beautiful voice like music to my ears. “Ana, fuck, I’ve missed you. You did so good,mi diosa. You took him down and we got to him. He’s not going anywhere.”

I looked up at Callan and he shook his head, as if urging me not to tell them.

“Sloane said you guys planned all of this. Baby,” she choked up. “Where is Jake now?” she asked, composing herself.

“He’s restrained. We’re talking to him. We’ll take care of it. You two head back to the hotel in D.C. We’ll meet you there,” Callan answered before I could even think.

“Please be careful,” Sloane’s voice rang through. “I’ve never seen him like this. He’s fucking lost it,” she said, her voice shaking.

“We will, baby. I love you,” he said softly, and I glanced up at him, his face a look of determination.

“I love you too,” she said back.

“Charlie,” Ana cut in again. “I love you.”

I smiled, forgetting where I was as I turned and found Jake’s lifeless body on the ground. “I love you too. More than anything.”

The call ended and I looked up at Callan. “What now?”

Callan moved quickly. “Don’t touch anything. We’re gonna wrap him in that rug and get him out of here. I’ll come back and make sure we’ve cleaned up without a trace.”

I stared at him, the weight of what I’d done finally starting to sink in. “What are we gonna do with him?”

“We’re gonna dump him out in the bay. If no one finds him, no one knows,” he explained, moving the couch that covered the rug.

I blinked before moving to the rug to help him, wiping the blood off my hand on my jeans. “You’ve done this before.”

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