Page 109 of Hate Wrecked

“Shut the hell up,” Rowan seethes, his voice harsh. Then he looks into my eyes. “Where are they?”

“One is in the pit,” I reply, my jaw tight.

Rowan nods. “Other?”

“Loose. Headed this way, I think.”

He nods again.

“Your mama and daddy been tearing up the news looking for you, princess,” he says. “Thought maybe you were dead, but not everybody bought it.” He flicks his eyes to Rowan. “You? They figured you ran. Figured you had something to do with it. Bad blood runs deep, don’t it?”

“I told you to shut the hell up,” Rowan seethes.

I walk toward them, the man’s eyes roving over me. He laughs. “You won’t do anything. You’re a good guy, right? Keeping her safe and warm. You wouldn’t hurt a fly, right? Gotta let the law do its thing. You abide, I know you do.”

The man attempts to speak again, but Rowan quickly releases him and brings the butt of the gun down on the back of his head.

We make sure there are no more weapons on him, then we race to the boat. Rowan has my hand wrapped in his, while the other is holding the gun. “I don’t know where the other one is,” I say.

Rowan looks back. “We just need their boat. Radio’s fried—or someone made sure it wouldn’t work. I’ll try anyway.”

When we reach the water, we take the small boat they left on the shore. Rowan pushes it out with me inside. We glide through the water, and Rowan takes the oars, guiding us closer to their yacht. Once we arrive, I board first, followed by Rowan, gun in hand, eyes on the horizon. I turn back, reaching for his hand.

When Rowan looks up at me, his eyes go wide.

A wet arm wraps around my neck, cutting off my air. I thrash in the arms of the man who had been chasing me earlier.

“I guess we had the same idea, huh?” he sneers, his voice close to my ear. “Thought you’d leave us here, eh?”

I shake my head as Rowan reaches the top of the ladder. My fingers dig into his forearm, and Rowan levels the gun at him.

“Let her go.”

“Why? So she can stick a blade in my hand? I don’t think so.” He looks out across the horizon at the island. “Where’s Butch?”

“Taking a nap,” Rowan says. The man tightens his grip, and I whimper.

Rowan’s jaw is tight when he speaks again. “He’s safe on the island. Let her go, and you’ll be safe, too. No harm will come to you. We just need to get home.”

“No harm? After what she did to Chuck? Hell, I oughta break her neck right now.”

I let my hands fall as Rowan stares at me. When I touch the knife in my pocket, I grip it tightly, pulling it out swiftly. It cuts through the skin of his thigh easily, and I gasp for air as he releases his grip on me. Rowan surges forward, pushing me out of the way as he punches the man in the face. He sprawls to the ground, spitting blood as I roll over.

“Don’t you fucking move,” Rowan says through gritted teeth.

When Rowan glances at me, the move is only fleeting, his attention on the man. “Are you okay?”

The man laughs. “Is she okay? I’m gonna fucking bleed out. You want that on your soul?”

Rowan glares at him.

“You think you’re better than me?” he mutters. “Maybe you ain’t.”

Rowan places the gun on the man’s forehead, leaning down.

And that’s when I see real fear in the man’s eyes.

MY WOMAN

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