Page 68 of Legacy

“Let’s go, motherfucker.” I welcomed the chance to unleash my fury for all the barbs he had spilled against my Avra.

We were similar in build and the closest in age—he was in his late forties, and I was just turning forty. And the fact he trained similarly to me meant we were an even match, and I couldn’t let my guard down, no matter that he was drunk. Actually, I should keep it up more since there was no telling what he’d do.

Right as he reached me, I knocked him hard in the face, sending him a few steps back. “You deserve this and more.”

“You do all this for pussy.” He spit out blood, his face a play of outrage. “She’s a whore, everyone knows this. Ask anyone in Prague.”

We threw punches, bobbing and weaving, and the need to destroy him blinded my vision. The craving for violence-filled retribution fed my blood as it pumped through my veins.

I shook off the few hits that he landed, but eventually, I grabbed him by the hair and brought him onto his knees, pummeling his head.

“You don’t deserve the right to look at my wife. To think of her.” I jerked his head back and started my retribution on his face.

He scraped and clawed at my arm, trying to breathe.

“You didn’t listen when she told you she’d have the last laugh…” I shifted my hold, gripping his head differently. “She spoke the truth, and now you pay.”

I twisted my hands in opposing directions, and the snap and crackle of bones echoed out as I broke his neck. Throwing the fucker to the floor, I stared at my blood-soaked, swollen hands and blew out a deep breath.

He deserved everything he got. Technically, this was Avra’s kill, but I was in no mood to wait for her to take care of this.

I took inventory of the area around me. Bodies were scattered throughout the area, but there was no sign of Avra.

My heart hammered in my chest.

Where the fuck was she?

Yes, I knew she could hold her own. But this wasn’t the world she’d grown up in, no matter how well Vik had trained her.

She was my fucking future, and I’d protect her whether she liked it or not.

I homed in on Cristo’s slumped body.

Laya had taken care of that jackass.

With Cristo and Morisi out of the way, it was time to find Pello.

I heard her before I saw her. “I’m not letting you get away, you fucking coward.”

Running toward the voice, I found her chasing after Pello and being intercepted by one of his soldiers, who grabbed her by the waist.

Immediately, a red haze coated my sight, and I darted for them. Avra saw me and nodded, instinctively knowing what I had planned. I pulled the gun from my waist as she went limp in the soldier’s arms, and he lost his grip on her. I shot, hitting the dick in the face.

“Don’t you fucking do that again,” I ordered as I helped her up.

Her response was to tug me to her and kiss me.

She pushed me away at the screech of car tires and rushed toward the lawn leading to the parking area. “I won’t let him escape. I can’t.”

I chased after her, arriving in time to see Avra skid to a stop and raise her gun. She aimed it at Pello while he pointed his at her.

My heart stopped, and all the air in my lungs froze. I was too far away to reach, help her, or block her. I opened my mouth to shout, but I held it back, not wanting to distract her.

My life spun in slow motion, except my limbs remained stuck in place. Watching them square off, the idea of him killing her, the thought of losing her.

The twin blasts jarred me out of my paralysis of seconds earlier, and a manic rage engulfed me. If anything happened to her, the world would learn the true nature of the monster I was.

I tore across the path, then jerked to a stop, unable to comprehend what I saw.

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