Page 106 of Passion and Payback

“Yes, I remember. I used it to gut you and your last boyfriend. Where did you get this?”

“Pulled it out of your dealer friend’s hand, then used it to gut him like the animal he was. And then I used it to open Damon’s throat and cut open Mitchell. I hadn’t decided what to do with you yet, but I was willing to be flexible.”

“Is that so?” he asked with a smirk as he held it aloft. “Have you decided?”

“After tonight?” I told him, fear and hate swirling in my gut like a tempest. “I’m thinking slow and painful.”

“I have to admit,” he said in a low voice that, from anyone else, might have been a sexy purr. As it was, I could feel the churning in my stomach grow fiercer. “I’m a little impressed. You kill a few people, and suddenly, you’ve decided you’re a killer.”

I glanced at Kai, whose eyes were locked onto the blade as Callum held it aloft. If the ties around his legs were any indication, those ties also held his hands, and a blade wouldprobably come in handy. That was if I could get the blade away from Callum and get it to Kai without anyone taking it away. The problem with that, though, was I was unarmed, outgunned, and outnumbered. My chances of surviving were?—

No...wait. Callum had already made the point that he didn’t want me to die a quick death. And unless his mercenaries were trigger-happy or he was fast enough to stop them, I doubted he was going to let me get killed by something as simple as a bullet. He would make sure I stayed alive and paid for what I’d done to his friends, no matter what happened.

“Better than being a tiny-dicked monster,” I growled in his face.

“I don’t remember you finding it all that small before,” he said with that predator’s grin. “But I suppose we have plenty of time for you to be reminded.”

“No, we don’t,” I said, knowing if I were going to make a move, it would have to be now. I locked eyes with Kai, who widened his and gave a minute shake of his head, clearly not wanting me to do anything stupid. It was the only hope either of us had of getting out of the situation. We either succeeded, or we didn’t. If we didn’t, I’d be dead from a jumpy goon, or I was going to suffer whether I resisted or not. And if we did succeed?—

I reached up, gripped the wrist holding the knife, and slammed my forehead directly into Callum’s face. I had no idea if he was used to experiencing real pain, but with a snarl, he yanked his hand back and took a step away. It was all I needed to yank the knife free from his grip and bring my foot up to kick him in the gut, pressing my back into the wall for more leverage and sending him flying over the back of the couch and onto the floor.

One of the guards raised their gun, but the other shoved it down and advanced on me as Callum struggled to get up. I swung at the first guard, not surprised when he weaved around itas the second moved in to help his buddy. I could not fight them both as Callum finally got up, and the two mercs advanced on me quickly. As they grabbed me to pin me against the wall, I let the knife drop between our legs.

Even I couldn’t tell if the fight I was putting up was genuine or to keep them distracted. Either way, it was a good enough show that all their eyes were on me and what I was doing with everything but my feet. Knowing I couldn’t aim and hoping I had the right angle, I lashed my foot out, barely noticing the pain as I kicked the blade in what I prayed was Kai’s direction before they managed to keep me still.

“You fought back then,” Callum said, adjusting his clothes. “I shouldn’t be surprised you fought now. Let’s see how long before that fight dies like your last boyfriend.”

Blood was strong in my mouth, and I hocked and spat in his face, glad to see there was phlegm along with blood and spit. “Fuck you, Callum.”

“One of you, take him to the bedroom. I’d like to be comfortable while I enjoy myself,” he said with a sadistic grin. Of course he wanted me taken to my bedroom, which, like my apartment, should have been considered a safe place. It was precisely the kind of twisted logic he would enjoy and the kind that had me wanting to scream as I was dragged by a man far larger and stronger than me from the dining room.

I had no choice as I was shoved down onto the bed. Callum held out a hand toward the man who had dragged me in, that creepy smile still in place. Worse, I could see the front of his pants were tented, clearly anticipating what he was going to do to me while I was once again helpless. Panic clawed at my chest, a desperate animal to be freed from the cage it was in, and I could feel my lungs growing smaller as the world narrowed.

“I believe I’ll need some of those ties,” Callum said. “Unless, of course, you’re the sort to watch.”

If the merc cared in the slightest about what was said, nothing showed behind his mask as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a bunch of zip ties, handing them to Callum with barely a glance. Callum advanced on me, and I scooted back, thinking wildly of the small gun safe unlocked under the bed. However, while I was outnumbered, there was nothing I could do before I was dragged back to the bed and the last hope taken from me.

We all paused when we heard a harsh thud from the other room and what I thought was a low grunt. It was followed by a gunshot that spun Callum and the other merc toward the doorway.

“I said not to kill him!” Callum snarled, motioning for the other merc to leave. “Neither of them!”

Callum might not know what was happening, but I had seen Kai in action. Either my plan had worked, or Kai had just taken one last Hail Mary maneuver to distract the three men long enough to give me a chance. I didn’t have time to hope it hadn’t cost his life, knowing if it had, I was going to make sure Callum went down alongside Kai...and probably myself.

With Callum’s back turned, I rolled off the bed and hit the ground with a thump I knew would get Callum’s attention. I twisted under the bed, knocking the small gun safe onto its side and grabbing the gun. I could see his feet rounding the bed, and I twisted, bringing the gun out and pointing it at him, stopping him in his tracks.

“I see I should have made them search the room,” Callum hissed, his eyes widening.

“Looks like you should have,” I said, squeezing the trigger like I’d been taught.

Callum flinched, and we stared at one another in shock. “Seems you forgot to load it.”

“Uh,” I stared at the gun and grunted, flipping the switch on the side with my finger. “Sorry, safety was on.”

His eyes widened as the gun let out one, then two reports, staining his soft blue shirt with two black holes that suddenly grew crimson. His hand flew to his chest, and he stumbled backward, letting out a gurgling gasp before he hit the wall and slid down. As much as I wanted to stay to finish the job, what was more important was what was going on in the rest of the apartment.

Growling at my Jello-like legs to get me up off the floor, I stumbled into the hall, terrified of what I was going to see. I brought the gun up at the first person I saw, finger twitching before I realized the dark I could see were bruises. Blood was smeared all over Kai’s hands and his upper body, the knife in his hand dripping as he came to a stop in the hallway, staring at me as if he too, was processing what he was seeing.

“You’re alive,” he said in a harsh voice.

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