Page 60 of Hostile Rival
In the back of mind, my father’s voice joins the anarchy, his evilness siphoning through my veins like black tar. He’s the one they had called a psycho, but right now, that’s exactly how I feel. Nothing else matters buther.
Subconsciously, my feet are already moving while my finger snaps the trigger once, twice, three times. Every shot fired burrows into the fucker’s skull until he slumps in a heap, no longer a threat to my girl.
The rush of the execution hits me hard. My nostrils flare as I suck in air and duck low, narrowly missing the bullet whizzing past my shoulder.
Stealing another soul should weigh heavily on my conscience. But it doesn’t and that’s the exact moment everything falls into place.
I’d kill armies to protect this woman and not regret a single dying heartbeat. I’m more like my father than he would have expected. Maybe that’s why he had shunned me. He was scared of the man I would become.
Joining The Covenant turned the key to a life my father had tried to separate me from. And now I’ve found what was missing inside of me.
A real connection.
That one true spark.
Finally reaching Dani, I throw myself over the top of her heaving body, aware of her cold skin and gasping breaths.
“Matheus!” My brother's deep voice breaks the silence of a ceasefire. “You good?” I peer over my shoulder where he’s reloading his revolver, his dark hair messy and a team of alert soldiers crowding him. “Those fuckers had the balls to shoot at us. There better be a good reason for this shitshow.”
Not answering, I scramble to my knees and cup her cheeks, hitching her gaze to meet mine. With all the blood on her face, she’s unrecognizable.
Savage, yet so stunning. My heart is pounding, falling way too deep into this fascination.
Dani coughs, stubbornly trying to sit upright while I study her.
“You did good,” I whisper, thumbing the corner of her mouth. “I’m in awe of you, baby. Those bastards didn’t stand a chance. I’ve got you now.”
“Crow…” Dani croaks, pointedly switching to my codename. She rubs her throat with one hand and slaps mine away with the other. “What we did…up there…it stops now… it didn’t mean anything.”
Her denial cuts right through me. I bare my teeth, ready to put my girl straight. This isn’t easy for me either. The persistent craving––a mishmash of screwed up emotions. Not knowing if she’d turn a weapon on my brothers while I admire every little thing she does.
It’s driving me insane.
“We both know that’s bullshit,” I mumble.
In reality, we should go our separate ways. Despite that, things don’t always work out how you want them to. Giovanni had taskedmewith monitoring Blanco’s top soldier and that's exactly what I’m going to do, follow through with the mission.
A soldier’s flashlight shines over us from behind, dazzling her eyes.
“Come on, Mat. The Souzas have outstayed their welcome.” André’s voice becomes distant as he angles away.
Caught in a blinding stream of light, Dani blinks wildly. Her chest expands and her small hands fly up in defense, wrapping around my throat in a blind panic.
“No…” she hisses. “No!”
I grab onto her forearms, not wanting to hurt her and understanding how her brain has malfunctioned all over again.
Except she lunges at me, her eyes glazed. Immediately, the men who are paid to protect me move into position and my lungs cramp for oxygen.
“Get the fuck…off…me!” she cries, her voice breaking from the trauma.
“Turn the light off,” I choke out, my voice strained and raspy.
“Jesus fuck.” André stalks into view, his gun aimed at her head. “You wanted to help thisputa?”
Having fought and killed a dozen men, she’s weaker than usual, however the surge of energy she gets inside from tripping her nightmares gives her a powerful edge.
Nevertheless, I manage to spin her around and put myself in the way of André’s gun instead.
