Page 73 of Mine to Keep
“On it.”
Skylar hung up and met the eyes of the three men. “You’re all good with long range rifles?” They nodded. “Good.” He opened his laptop and pulled up the map that was sent to him. “This is what we’re going to do.” He pointed to three separate spots in the trees. “You’ll each take one of these locations, guns at the ready. You let me get some good shots in. As soon as he’s on his back, I’ll give you space and I want you to incapacitate him.Onlyincapacitate him. I want the final kill, got it?”
The men nod, not too big on words.
“Good.”
Skylar rose from the couch and limped to the bathroom. Once the door was shut, he whipped his shirt off and removed the bandage from his side. The sutures looked good, no sign of infection. He checked his leg as well, making sure the wound and stitches were clean, and he could put weight on that limb. He’d have to do a lot of moving around tomorrow night.
Viper was squirrelly, and Skylar begrudgingly acknowledged that he was a good fighter. If Skylar was going to take him out, he had to be as close to one hundred percent as he could be.
His life and his revenge depended on it.
twenty-six
to the death
When I breakthrough the trees of the clearing I sent Skylar coordinates for, I see him already there, waiting with a blade at his side.
I smirk, keeping my eyes on him while letting my senses fan out. I don’t immediately see anyone, but that doesn’t mean he’s alone. After the shit he pulled with him and Martha fucking jumping me, I don’t put anything past him.
I stop about thirty feet from him, meeting his angry eyes with an almost bored expression.
“You alone?” I ask, feeling like there are more eyes on me than the two acrimonious ones glaring at me.
He scoffs, flicking the knife back and forth between his fingers. “You told me to come alone, right?”
“Yeah, but you and your bitch were a team. Figured that wasn’t something you’d give up.”
My taunt does what I want it to do. He’s unnerved and will operate on pure hate now, disregarding skill. “Watch your fucking mouth!” he shouts, pointing at me with the knife. “Don’t youdaretalk about Martha that way!”
I shrug. “Whatever. Look, I’m unarmed. No gun, no knife.” I lift my shirt so he can see. “Let’s square up. No weapons, no bullshit.”
He glares at me, flipping the knife in the air over and over. He could very well throw it at me and this will be over before it began. There is no cover here, which is why I chose the location.
The clearing has trees about fifty yards from where we’re standing, so there’s nowhere to hide, nowhere to run that will give us immediate cover. If he agrees to drop his blade, we’ll be on equal footing.
Skylar flips the handle of the blade, catchingthe tip betweenhis fingers, then flicks his wrist. The knife flies almost soundlessly through the air, its tip sinking deep into a tree in the distance. He raises his shirt and shows me that he’s weapon-free as well.
“Let’s see what you got, Viper,” he snarls.
I smile again, taking slow steps towards him. “You already have. One on one this time, though.”
His eyebrows dip and he limps over to me, favoring his right leg. I smile to myself, finding a weak spot.
When we get within a few feet of each other, Skylar raises his hands in a fighting position. I don’t want to be out here long. I have to get my boys, so I rush at him, throwing a wild haymaker to throw him off his guard and have him leaning on his bum leg.
He anticipates that and twists to the side, shooting a quick jab at my ribs. I eat that and punch him once, twice in the face, making his head kick back.
Skylar snarls and shoves me, knocking me off my feet. He straddles my waist and throws rapid punches at me, dazing me for a moment. I try to thrust up and topple him off me, but he has his weight distributed evenly, so all I can do is guard my face as best as I can.
The sound of a gunshot pings off the ground beside me, barely missing my ear. Skylar stops his assault and glances at a section of the woods. I take that time to jab him in the side, where I spotted his thick bandages when he lifted his shirt.
He cries out in pain and tumbles off me, holding his injured side. Another shot rings out, but from behind me. I don’t waste time looking—I scramble over to Skylar and put my knee against his chest as I jab him with lefts and rights.
Another shot rings out, grazing my calf. I grit my teeth but continue to try to bash Skylar’s head into the fucking ground. My hand screams in pain as I hold his head tighter, but I don’t dare let up. A second shot, then a quick third pings through the air. I keep my attention on Skylar, working on turning his face into mush.
Before I can throw a hit directly to his nose, he wrenches my wrist quickly, making me cry out and lose my balance, toppling to the ground. I don’t spend time on the ground, scrambling to my feet and backing up a few paces. Skylar staggers to his feet, holding on to his bleeding side while panting heavily.
