Page 107 of Surrender
He sat at the edge of the grave beside me, leaning in and grinning wildly. “You want me to continue? I’ve got six more.”
I spat at him, a mixture of blood and saliva droplets covering his face. “Go to hell,” I hissed, swiping at my mouth and leaving a crimson smear across the back of my hand. My chest heaved as I struggled to breathe through the sharp pain shooting through my side, and I was sure he wasn’t done yet, watching him lift his shirt to wipe at his face.
I braced for another blow.
But instead, his face twisted into this wicked smile.
One that inspired movies.
One that made you scream.
One that made you sleep with the lights on for weeks after.
“You’re so strong, so righteous,” he mocked with a bitterlaugh. “As if your story is going to be any different from theirs. As if you are somehow smarter, stronger, more important!” He stood with a dramatic sigh, pulling his gun from his waistband and waving it around casually like a magician about to perform some kind of trick.
“You want to know a secret, Darcy?”
I forced myself upright, though every part of my body screamed to give up.
It was waving the white flag.
It’d had enough, and I could feel myself fading.
Yet, I kept my eyes narrowed on him.
I wouldn’t let him know how close I was to breaking.
He came closer, standing over me and reaching out, dragging his gun along my jawline. “Iknowyour biker is coming,” he murmured, hooking the cold metal barrel under my chin and using it to tilt my face. “I’m sure he’s on his way right now, ready to burn down this entire fucking forest, just to save you.”
I shoved his hand away with the last bit of strength I could muster, but all it did was amuse him even more, his laughter sending a dark chill crawling up my spine.
Gun dangling at his side, he began to back up.
One step at a time.
“It makes you feel good, right?” he taunted, hand trembling slightly as he raised the gun, aiming it at my chest. “Because you know I’m gonna get what I deserve.”
I stared him down.
I wouldn’t flinch, or cry, or give him any satisfaction as he killed me.
That’s what he wanted.
That’s what he lived for.
“But what I’m actually going to get is to see the look on your boyfriend’s face…” his finger curled around the trigger, a sadistic grin forming on his face, “… when he realizes he’s too late.”
BANG.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
BLUE
Parker shrieked as the bullet whipped by his ear, Hawk’s aim so fucking precise that it barely missed the bastard by a breath.
He spun, unsteady and stumbling, but just in time for me to drive my fist through his face. It felt so fucking good, the sound of his nose crunching under the force like music to my ears. He hit the ground hard, with a thud that shook the forest floor. His gun flew from his hand and skidded into the thick brush.
He lay there, still and unmoving, and I paused just long enough to catch his chest rising and falling before I kicked him to the side and stormed by. My brothers could watch him. I needed to refocus my attention on Darcy.
