Page 107 of Killing Me Softly

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“Who’s that, Dr Lyons?”

“Just a man very much in love with your brother.” The words were simple. Gentle. Sincere and profound. But his next step into her mind was the real move. Quiet. Simple. Undeniable. “And I will doanythingto keep him safe. So, if you need me to beg you, I’ll do it. If you need me to bleed for him, I will.”

Aaron’s stomach twisted. The words hit, sinking into him like a hook. Not just because of what Kenny had said, but because ofwhyhe’d said it. He meant every word. Kenny would sacrifice himself for him. But desperation didn’t appeal to Mable. She didn’t care about pleas. Pain. She didn’t feel empathy. Aaron knew that. And Kenny knew that, too.

“But if you need to prove something?” Kenny took a step closer. “If you need towin? Then you already have.”

Aaron’s breath caught as it clicked into place. Kenny wasn’t trying to appeal to her mercy. He was appealing to her hunger. Mable didn’t care about what Kenny felt. She cared about how she madehimfeel. She wanted control. Wanted to see someone break in front of her. To watch them unravel at her hands, to crack them open. The way she’d been cracked open as a child.

And Kenny…was giving it to her.

“Did you hear that, Mel?” Mable glanced over at Mel with a smirk. “You’re nothing to him.”

“That’s not true.” Kenny kept his eyes on Mable, not looking at Mel, ensuring his words reached the right person. “Mel isn’t nothing to me. But she is to you. She isn’t who you’re here for. She’s served her purpose. She brought us here. You wanted us, now you have us. There’s no reason to waste your time on someone who doesn’t matter to this.” He tilted his neck. “And time is what you don’t have, Mable. You’re running out of it. The police are right around the corner, so if you want this to mean something. If you want to make sure Aaron and I understand exactly what you want us to understand, then you need to focus.” Kenny held steady. “Let Mel go.” His voice softened just a fraction. “She doesn’t belong in this. You and I both know that.”

Silence.

The roomcrackledwith it.

Mable’s fingers twitched around the knife. Shelikedthat. The recognition. The understanding of where the real power was. A shiver crawled down Aaron’s spine, but before he could processit, she straightened. Then, with a wave of the blade, she gestured toward the empty chair beside Mel. “Sit.”

Kenny hesitated for a second before stepping inside. He obeyed, lowering himself onto the chair, but not before his gaze darted to Aaron, raw emotion poking through his usual restraint. Aaron sank into his chair, eyes locked on Kenny. With him in here, there was no way out. They both knew it.

Mable moved toward Mel with eerie ease, the knife glinting as she reached for the ropes securing her. She untied Mel’s restraints with one hand, the other still gripping the knife, poised, ready to strike at the slightest resistance. Mel sobbed in relief, slumping forward, arms finally freed and for one blissful second, Aaron thought Mable might actually let her go.

She didn’t.

She plunged the knife into her instead.

Mel screamed, a raw, guttural sound as her legs buckled and she collapsed to the floor, clutching wherever the wound was, Aaron couldn’t see as blood spilled in thick rivulets between her trembling fingers.

Aaron jerked against his restraints, a muffled roar of rage strangled in his throat.

Kenny lunged.

Mable barely had time to react before he was on her, one hand striking her wrist, knocking the knife loose, the other slamming against her shoulder to shove her back. The blade clattered to the floor, and for a fleeting second, Kenny had the upper hand. He twisted, reaching for Mel, trying to drag her toward him, but Mable recovered fast. And with a feral snarl, Mable drove an elbow into his ribs, hard enough to knock the air from his lungs and Kenny staggered, but he didn’t go down. He struck back. Fist snapping up, catching Mable’s jaw in a clean, brutal hook sending her stumbling into the table, knives and rusted tools rattling in protest.

But Aaron could see it in the way Kenny’s body swayed, in the slight hesitation before his next move, in the fraction of a second it took him to process what was happening. He wasn’t at full strength, wasn’t himself, and Mable knew it. She was waiting for it.

She grabbed Mel. Not to harm her.To use her.

Before Kenny could land another blow, Mable wrenched Mel up by her bound wrists and threw her into him.

Aaron watched, heart slamming against his ribs, as Kenny stumbled under the weight of Mel’s body. He twisted, trying to absorb the impact, trying toprotecther even now. And that split second of hesitation—that moment offucking humanity—was all Mable needed.

She was on him before he could right himself.

Rope flashed through the air. A loop.Tight.

Aaron choked on his own breath as it snapped around Kenny’s throat.

Kenny bucked, clawing at the sudden, brutal pressure. His body jerked, but his movements were sluggish, dulled. Aaron could see it—the moment Kenny realised he couldn’t fight this.

Mable wrenched him backwards.

He hit the chair hard, knees buckling as she forced him down, twisting the rope so tight Aaron saw the veins in his neck strain. Kenny thrashed, but it wasn’t enough. His reflexes too fucking slow.

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