Page 321 of Eternal
I follow him, heart pounding, loud, out of control, that noose around my ribs is tight, choking.
Fuck, it hurts.
Hurts not to pull the trigger right now, thinking about her alone, trapped,broken. Not with me. Not safe. Behind bars. Underground. Silent.Forgotten
Can’t let that happen. Not to her.Never.
“The thing is,” he continues, “even with her pattern analyzed, she’s still unpredictable. She leaves a lot of blood, but rarely her own. Even the footage…I figured the best approach would be an ambush.”
He walks ahead, unafraid, barely paying attention. He still thinks this is just a conversation. That we’re negotiating an alliance.
We’re between the forest and the complex. A secluded spot. The kind of place people forget quickly… where screams don’t carry far enough to be heard.
Alexander slows down. Maybe he senses something.
I’m no longer listening.
I just watch him, and in my mind, the images blur together.
Her. In handcuffs.
Her. Bleeding.
Her. Hunted like an animal.
Her. Ripped away from me.
I see him pointing at her, selling her out, dragging her through the mud, and something inside me goes still.
What remains is something cold.
Somethingpure.
The fear of losing her.
“The advantage,” he says, “is that after studying her methods, I can anticipate her next move. She’s brilliant, but human. We force a mistake. And once we’ve got her…boom. It’s over.”
He tilts his head slightly toward me, still wearing that damn smile.
“So? Do we have a deal?”
I don’t answer.
I’m on him before the words are even registered in my brain.
My hands clamp around his throat, crushing, squeezing hard enough to please me.
The knife slides out from my belt, slowly. And I don’t care if we’re outside. Don’t care we’re in public. Or that they’ll find his body when I’m done with it.
I don’t care about anything.
I shove it deep into his stomach.
The blade sinks into his flesh. His white shirt blossoms red, and for a second, I feel…relieved.
He doesn’t scream. He just stares.Shocked. He didn’t expect it. What a fucking shame.
I pull the knife back. Then again.Faster.Harder.
