Page 278 of The Reluctant Hero

That’s for my tit, asshole.

There’s a stunned moment where he gapes at me, and I’m convinced I missed. I didn’t feel any squishy parts. Then he gags loudly and drops my arm to clutch his crotch protectively. His backward shuffle lands him on his ass as he howls with pain.

“What thefuck?” Brass screams with him. He’s following the action with the phone like a bystander.

“He’s bleeding everywhere,” Killmefirst adds his hysterical voice to the chaos.

“Keep fighting, Amanda!” Mikael’s tinny voice roars.

“Get out of there!” Cade yells next.

I’m dazed by the chaos surrounding me. Luckily, everyone else is too.

Killmefirst is crouched over New Guy with his hands pressed over his neck. A dark puddle is growing no matter how hard he holds it. New Guy is unconscious. Brass is stuck in place. Loudmouth is curled up in the fetal position, crying.

Leaving my sweet Jakob lying lonely a few feet away.

I can’t have that. Jakob deserves my company, betrayal or not.

I hurry to pick it up, crawling as fast as I can. As soon as my hand touches the weighted bulb end, a cold, deadly calm settles over me. No matter the noise around me, I’ve got this.

I stand with it clenched in my hands. The first person I see is Killmefirst. He’s too busy to pay attention to me, his eyes focused on the puddle pooling around him.

I gain my feet. My pain pushes into the background as I raise the baton. I do a hand twirl to get ready, raising my other arm to catch it above my head in both hands around the bulb. Then I bring it down, leaning forward with the momentum on the back of his neck.

The loud snap that follows my heavy swing makes a chill run down my spine. Killmefirst crumples and doesn’t move.

“What the fuck,” Brass squeals.

Loudmouth regains his feet, hunched over with one hand grabbing his junk protectively.

“This bitch,” Loudmouth mutters, anger trying to take over his expression as he turns to me.

We face off, a sneer overtaking his flushed face as he takes a step forward, arm cocked back and ready to knock me out with one punch.

I shift the baton in a quick move to hold it in the center. With a hand spin, I move it into a circle. The spinning has all of his focus, caution slowly taking hold. His arm is still cocked, but he takes a step back.

As Jakob twirls around, I feel like I’m moving in slow motion. My concentration is coldly focused as I move into position.

The baton easily moves to my fingers, continuing the spin and gaining speed. I step forward, keeping the same distance between us. The twirl is too close to him, forcing him back.

Now.

I bounce the baton off my wrist, grabbing the bulbous end as he tries to follow my movements. The spin continues with my wrist, and my arm stretches forward, forcing him back another step.

I twirl on my feet, lifting Jakob over my head, the spin stopping at the top. By the time I’m facing him again, closer to him than I was before, my arm has already circled back and is coming up with all my force.

The hammer end clips him closer to his throat. I was aiming for his chin.

My disappointment doesn’t get a chance to appear before horror takes its place. I’m so honed in on him that I can’t look away as his jaw shatters, teeth popping out like crazy. His head jerks back, his body following as dead weight.

He thuds to the floor heavily, making my eyes jerk away from him.

They land on Brass, still holding the camera. In his other shaky hand is a pocket knife.

My eyes move from it to his darting eyes as I shift my grip on Jakob.

“How far do you think you’ll get with that?” My voice comes out devoid of emotion, my eyes steady on him.

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