Page 75 of Steel Rain

I took his hand, and he brought me to my feet, walking me around the table until I stood at Keith’s head, staring down at his broken body.

“We’re going to kill him.” Eoghan looked viciously happy about that fact. “But how we do that is up to you.”

Dairo stared at Keith with an amused expression.

“If you were my wife, I’d hand you a knife and tell you to have at it.” Then he looked at Ajax. “What do you think, coach? Should we hand her a blade?”

I looked at Ajax, who was expressionless as he looked at the carnage around him.

Keith struggled, absolutely frozen like a deer watching the headlights before it crashed into his side. He was prey. We were predator.

There was a certain satisfaction I felt in watching the fear melt into his eyes. He must have remembered every little cruel word, every moment when he addressed me as his little princess, and every transgression ever since … he knew they were about to come back on him in spades.

“Listen, Sinead …” Keith said.

I lunged forward, grabbing the blade from Ajax’s hand, and I cut down Keith’s cheek, from below his molar, to the corner of his lips until it flapped open in a Cheshire smile. He screamed, his foot hitting the ground as the pain of it must have seared into his little brain.

He whimpered, his head falling forward, the blood spilling down his chin, down his neck, staining the pristine, white button-down shirt before disappearing behind his black blazer.

I wondered if that bothered him. He had always been so meticulous about his appearance. Every hair was combed to perfection, every stitch in its right place. But now, here he was, scarred on his one good asset.

“Sinead, you know I only ever wanted …” He grumbled.

I halted his speech with a fist to his face, his head whipping back as I felt the beautiful, crunching sound of his nose as it smashed into several pieces. More blood from his nose went down the groove of his philtrum to his cupid’s bow, down to his mouth, where it outlined his perfect white teeth. He whined, and a harsh wheezing and bubbling came from his nose.

“Well done, Shiny,” Dairo said, tipping his glass to me, as he took a seat, crossing his leg at the ankles. “I swear, Rose couldn’t have done any better.”

He smiled with pride as he spoke of his wife, the MMA champion. The woman he had pursued after watching her fight the bratva in the octagon. The man had an obsession with his lady that was a bit disturbing, but also romantic … if they ever split up, the proper British gentleman was likely to go on a serial killing spree, ensuring that no man came within a mile of her, his fixation on her was so laser focused.

“She couldn’t have.” The deep voice came from behind my shoulder, and I looked at the source.

Ajax stood with his arms crossed in front of him, his biceps bulging in the position. His dark eyes were focused on Keith, and there was a slight lift on the corner of his mouth. He was enjoying the show.

He caught my eye, and the smirk turned into a smile with a slight nod of approval.

He stepped forward, until his warm chest pressed against my back, and he leaned down, his mouth grazing my ear.

“A wolf needs to be with another wolf,” he whispered, his voice a sensual growl. “That …” he nodded to Keith, “was a sheep in wolf’s clothing.” He stepped back, and I felt cold without his heat. “Have your revenge, She-Wolf. Your pack will stay at your side.”

With the blade in my hand, I let it dance in the air between us, swinging it side to side as I stared at an ever more frightened Keith.

“Sinead … I … I …” His eyes were pleading. And were those tears? “Stop.”

I placed my booted foot between his legs, as I leaned down over him.

“I’m begging you …” he whispered. “Please …”

Ajax came to me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

“I’m in your corner, warrior,” he said. “This is your victory lap. This isyoursfor the taking. Savor it.”

Ever the coach, he was guiding me to the right answers. Just like that first day, he was in my corner, telling me what to do, and Iknewhe was right. I felt it.

Keith deserved for his last moments to be as humiliating as the eve of my 18thbirthday had been. He needed to know. He needed to see andfeelwhat he had done. For years he had no consequences, but the very men who had been at his side were now turning their back on him, the way the men of my life, my father, Eoghan’s father, had turned on me.

“When I begged you to stop, did you?” I asked, feeling the pull of my lips, as my tongue grazed the bottom of my top teeth, feeling the sharpness of them. If I were a wolf, then I would have fangs. But just because I didn’t have fangs, didn’t mean I didn’t have teeth.

“Sinead, I’m sorry …”

---