Page 56 of Santa's Wish
Boz wheezed with every breath. Where he wasn't covered in blood, his skin was a mess of bruises. "Hang on, sweetness."
Cassius lunged for my knife. Forgetting the door was still in my way, I dodged and tripped over the corner. I fell flat on my ass with a hiss. Hopping back to my feet, I kicked out at Cassius, once again pushing him back toward Boz.
Bright light filled the room, and we both froze.
"What the fuck is going on in here?" Dr. Bredlow held the sword I'd given Jameson. They must have arrived shortly after I did.
Cassius whipped around my work stool, where he'd propped Boz. From the strange angle of his neck to his hips, Boz's back was broken. He groaned when Cassius gripped his throat. I hopped up and grabbed Cassius's shoulder, shoving him away, but it was too late. He'd bitten into Boz's carotid and ripped it open. Boz's lifeblood spurted from him with each heartbeat.
"You fucker!" Bones crackled and crunched between my fingers as I grabbed Cassius's arms and squeezed as hard as I could. When I'd splintered his arms from elbow to wrist, I tied them together like ropes. I didn't care how much his skin wept blood on the concrete or how much he whimpered.
Cassius's mind control scrabbled at the edges of myawareness, trying to gain purchase. I'd felt the sensation before from the empress and another I couldn't remember, but my rage was too strong this time. I knocked Cassius's head against the wall until he stopped trying to control me and groaned in defeat.
"Fucking hell," Dr. Bredlow whispered behind me. "I think I'll …"
"I can handle it from here," I reassured them.
"Handle what?" Cassius asked, sounding far too smug for a vampire with multiple fractures. "He's already dead."
"Not quite." Boz's heart still pumped, which meant …
I turned Cassius around and stabbed a sharpened fingernail into the vein at his elbow, just above where I'd destroyed his arm. The knot held his blood like a tourniquet, and a steady stream poured out the hole I'd made. I cut Boz's ties and cradled him in my arms, holding his mouth under the flow.
Even in his ruined state, Cassius tried to leave. I kicked his knee out. He fell to the concrete floor with a groan, and we followed him down.
Boz's mouth filled with blood, but he didn't swallow. I massaged his throat, hoping I'd gotten enough of the traitor's blood inside him before …
His heart stopped. I listened for it, but the only beats in the room belonged to me and the fucker who had killed him.
"Come back to me, sweetness." I kissed his bruised face.
Jameson and Dr. Bredlow returned with Key.
"Fuck me, this is bad." Key blew a low whistle and rushed into the hallway, muttering about a phone call.
Dr. Bredlow approached me with their hands raised. "Calm down, Santa. I want to check his vitals. Will you let me do that?"
I nodded and helped them lie Boz on my worktable. I was glad I'd just finished a project, or it would have been covered with sawdust and spare nuts and bolts. The doctor did their best to realign Boz's bones so they would set properly when he turned. I realigned his dislocated fingers and slid mine between them.
"Please come back to me," I whispered.
"Save me from this monster!" Cassius called to Key when he reentered the room.
Key ignored him. "Santa, would you do the honors?"
I blinked at him, the words not registering. "What?"
"Kill Cassius. You have the empress's blessing."
Cassius struggled to his feet. I kicked the back of his other knee, taking him down again.
"You can't kill me without a trial!" Cassius pleaded. "You'll have another riot on your hands!"
"The empress is willing to take that chance." Key frowned at me. "Santa?"
"With pleasure."
I punched my fist through Cassius’s ribcage like the vampires did on television. I'd always wanted to do it, but damn, it stung when his bones cut into me. I wrapped my fingers around his heart and tugged, pulling it free of his body and shoving him so he flopped onto the floor like a fish out of water.
