Page 86 of Explode
“Before you kill me, there are some things you might want to know,”he said, grinning.
I should have told him to take his secrets to the grave, but curiositykilled the damn cat. “Go on.”
He smiled, and my heart dropped, knowing I’d just walked into histrap.
“Firstly, you ought to know all the things Hendrix has planned for yourgirl,” he said, menacingly. “And he will get her, Kai. He’s nothing if not determined.”
I don’t know if it was fear or rage that kept me rooted to the spot.Either way, I didn’t move from where I stood.
“He’s spent months planning what he is going to do to her. First, he isgoing to fuck her in every hole until she bleeds. Then he is going to do it all over again, and once she can’t move because he has fucked her so hard, he’ll rape her again. And then-”
I’d heard enough. I wasn’t even aware of my body flying forward untilI was in front of him, and my fists were plowing into his ribs. He grunted as I hit him over and over, but his grunts were broken up by peals of laughter ringing around the forest.
I carried on hitting him, using him as my personal punchbag.Unwanted images of Hendrix touching Riley swam into my head, but instead of pushing them away, I used them to keep the rage burning through my body. Ribs cracked under my fists, blood coated my knuckles, but it still wasn’t enough.
Raining down blow after blow, much like I had done in the warehousebefore I was shot, Thorne’s body started to slump. It was only for the bolt of pain in my side from where I had my spleen removed that I stopped. Taking a step back, my breathing heavy, my hands shaking, I glared at the fucker.
His face was distorted, eyes swollen, lip busted. Bruises were alreadybeginning to form on his body, and yet the cunt was still laughing.
“What the fuck is wrong with him, is he fuckingSupermanorsomething?” I panted as Miles stepped up next to me.
“A trait of a psychopath, Kai. They have a higher tolerance to painthan most. It’s probably why he didn’t die when you beat him at the warehouse. We could stand here all day and inflict pain on this cunt, and he’d lap it up,” Miles said, his voice cool compared to the rage pumping through my veins. “It’s time to end this fucker once and for all. Let’s put him in the ground and be done with the crazy cunt.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
Nodding my head, I took a step back, more than prepared for mycousin to finish the job. I’d had my pound of flesh, now it was time for Miles to find the closure he needed.
Laughing like a hyena despite his appearance, Thorne held his headup to look at us. One eye was swollen shut, his lips were fat and bloodied, and when he opened his mouth to speak, his teeth were smeared in blood.
“One more thing,” he wheezed. Miles paused as he pulled out asecond knife from its sheaf. “Before you kill me….you should know…..I didn’t kill Theo,” he burst out laughing again as both Miles and I froze. “I gave the order, but your buddy, Hendrix, he was the one who slit Theo’s throat.” More laughter followed as he looked me dead in the eye. “All those months you were looking for Theo’s murderer, and he was living under the same roof as you!”
A roar erupted from Miles as I remained frozen to the spot. Milesslashed one hand through the air, his blade ripping open Thorne’s stomach, and his guts instantly falling out. With the other knife, he plunged it straight into Thorne’s throat, silencing the menacing laugh that rang out into the trees around us.
Pulling his knife out of Thorne’s throat, blood poured from the gapingwound. The two of us stood silently as we watched the life drain from his body, and he took his last shuddering breath.
It’s funny. For most kills, I normally found a sense of satisfaction inending someone’s life. But watching Thorne die, I didn’t feel an ounce of satisfaction.
I didn’t feel anything at all but the rage pumping through my body.
Chapter 25
Riley
FromtheminuteKaileft, I paced around the house to the point whereI practically wore a hole in the carpet. Ash insisted I went to bed to get some rest, I insisted I wouldn’t sleep until I knew Kai was okay. Miles too, for that matter. As much as I was pissed at him, I loved Miles like he was my own flesh and blood, and I didn’t want anything to happen to him.
To either of them.
My mind ran wild with thoughts of things going wrong. That Maxwouldn’t fall for the ruse, that The Stags would outnumber Kai and the team. Memories of Kai being covered in blood were at the forefront of my mind until Ash got the call confirming Max was secured, and The Stags guarding the house had been killed.
It did nothing to calm the worry brewing in me.
Max had always been a step ahead, outsmarted us at every turn. Alittle voice in the back of my head told me it wouldn’t be as easy as just strolling into Max’s house and grabbing him. Until Kai and Miles were home and confirmed Max was dead, I wouldn’t let myself believe it really was that easy.
Hours passed. At some point, half of the Apollo team returned home,regaling tales about The Stags they’d killed, and how stupid Thorne was for falling for the scam, but with no sign of Kai, I couldn’t breathe easy.
Despite Ash being exhausted from flying us home, he stayed awakewith me. We barely spoke, but I appreciated his silent company more than he would ever know.
When the sun began to rise, I sat out on the porch, watching the skyturn from a dark blue to a dusky pink, and then into a bright orange morning. My eyelids grew heavier with every passing minute, but I refused to close them.
