Page 74 of Rebel

He cried out, clutching the wound.

“That’s just the beginning,” I said.

He charged again, desperate now.I drove my knee into his stomach, doubling him over, then brought the handle of the knife down hard on the back of his head.He crashed into the coffee table, sending beer cans and an ashtray flying.

“You think you can just walk in here --” he started, scrambling to his feet.

I didn’t let him finish.The knife found his shoulder, sinking in deep.I twisted, feeling muscles tear.His scream filled the small space.

“You can’t win against me now that I’m not drugged,” I hissed in his ear as I yanked the blade free.“I made a mistake last time.Shouldn’t have let you go.How does it feel to be the helpless one?”

Blood bloomed across his shirt.He stumbled back, eyes wide with terror.“Please,” he begged.“I’m sorry.I didn’t -- it wasn’t my idea --”

“Shut up.”I slashed again, catching him across the chest.Not deep enough to kill.Not yet.“Every word out of your mouth is another cut.”

He tried to run, to push past Renegade, but the biker clotheslined him, sending him crashing back into the room.Ellis landed hard on his back, the air rushing from his lungs in a pained whoosh.

I straddled him, pinning his arms with my knees.The knife hovered above his face.

“Remember how you laughed?”I asked, my voice trembling with rage.“How you and Denton high-fived over my body like I was nothing but a piece of meat?”

“No, I don’t -- I can’t --”

I pressed the tip of the blade against his cheek, just hard enough to dimple the skin without breaking it.“Liar.”

Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.“Please.I’ve got money.I can pay you.”

“You think this is about money?”The knife sliced down, opening his cheek from eye to jaw.His screams turned to sobs.“You can’t buy your way out of this.”

Blood ran freely now, staining the dirty carpet beneath us.I felt nothing but cold determination as I worked.Another slash across his chest.A stab to his thigh.Non-fatal wounds, prolonging his suffering.

Behind me, I could hear Rebel whistling softly, the sound incongruously cheerful against Ellis’s cries for mercy.

“She’s good,” he remarked to no one in particular.“But, baby, might not want to drag this out too much.”

Ellis’s pleas grew weaker as blood loss took its toll.His eyes, once bright with fear, began to dull.

I leaned close, my mouth near his ear.“I want you to know something before you die,” I whispered.“You’re not going to be the only one to die today.”

His eyes widened at that, a flicker of understanding before resignation.

I stood up, wiping the knife clean on his shirt.Then I reached behind me, where Rebel already had my gun ready.He placed it in my hand with a nod of approval.

“Time’s up,” I said, aiming between Ellis’s eyes.

He didn’t beg anymore.Just stared, defeated.

I pulled the trigger.The sound seemed muffled by the silencer.Ellis’s head snapped back, then he went completely still.

For a moment, none of us moved.I stared at Ellis’s body, not feeling the relief I thought I would.Maybe once Denton was gone too.

“You good?”Renegade asked, his hand on my shoulder.

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

Rebel stepped forward, checking Ellis’s pulse out of habit rather than necessity.The hole in his forehead told us everything we needed to know.

“Clean,” he pronounced.“One shot.No suffering.”

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