Page 100 of Explode
He snorted. “Shame. I bet it was a lovely affair. Pity you foundyourself widowed so soon.”
“Courtesy of you,” I said, ignoring the smug satisfaction bubblingunder my skin at how wrong he was.
“I aim to please.” He took another step forward, closing the distancebetween us. “I’m impressed you managed to get old Georgio Bianchi wrapped around your little finger, I honestly didn’t see that one coming. Of course, you have to understand I couldn’t let that go without retaliating?”
Fucking Owen. This was all his fault.
I didn’t reply, instead just shrugged a shoulder as I took a step to myleft, trying to increase the distance from him. The bed was still between us, but the more space I could create the better.
“So tell me, who else have you got working for you? Who are the menout there on a suicide mission to rescue you?” Hendrix said, taking a step forward, almost reaching the bed.
“Just some friends.”
“They must be good friends if they’re willing to die for you.”
“The best,” I replied as I cast my eyes down his body looking forweapons. He wasn’t holding anything, and there were no obvious bulges under his shirt, so I didn’t think he had any weapons strapped to him. There could be one behind his back, but I had a feeling Hendrix believed he wouldn’t need a weapon to deal with me. A feeling I was holding on to, and hoping like hell I was right.
“Rumor has it you’re under some delusion that you are going to claimthe city for yourself,” he said, the smirk on his face growing bigger.
“It’s no delusion, that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” I replied, tryingto hold onto every shred of confidence I could find.
He let out a chuckle. “You amuse me, Mrs. Wolfe. I think we will havea lot of fun together.”
His eyes raked over my body again, looking at me like I was his prey.But he was in for a shock, this prey would bite back.
“I hate to break it to you, princess, but you are delusional. Your pitifularmy won’t get past my Stags, and if they did, what do you think is going to happen? That you can take the city from me?”
Taking a breath, I mustered every ounce of courage I had in me,knowing the next words that came from my mouth would push us to a point of no return. “That's exactly what's going to happen. Hollows Bay is mine, and I won’t be going down without a fight.”
“Is that so?” he replied, rubbing a finger over his lip.
“You bet it is, motherfucker,”
He held my gaze, but I saw the moment something inside himsnapped. His eyes darkened, and he bared his teeth as he suddenly leaped forward, bounding across the bed towards me. Even though I knew he would attack, I couldn’t stop the piercing scream from leaving my mouth.
My feet moved as fast as they could in the opposite direction, butHendrix predicted my move, he quickly turned and jumped off the bed. I wasn’t fast enough to get out of his way, he grabbed my arms roughly and threw me face-first onto the bed.
I scrambled to get away from him, but in an instant, he was on me.He flipped me over so I was on my back, and he crawled over my body to straddle my thighs, trying to pin my hands down. He leaned forward, his snarling mouth inches away from mine, and I didn’t hesitate. I snapped my head forward, my forehead smashing into his nose, and catching him off guard.
He sat up. His eyes watered, but I hadn’t been able to get enoughstrength behind my headbutt to do any damage. His nose hadn’t broken like I’d hoped to achieve.
“You fucking bitch!” he roared, and I had less than a second toprepare myself for the almighty smack he delivered to my face. He punched my cheek, and my head whipped to the side, my brain rattling in my head from the force.
Disorientated, I tried to lash out, but my eyes couldn’t focus. He usedmy confusion to his advantage, his hands wrapped around my throat, and he started squeezing.
My eyes bulged as my lungs grew tighter, panic bubbling to thesurface. He sneered down at me, his eyes wild with rage, but in his focus to choke the life out of me, he didn’t notice my hand lowering to my waist.
Knowing I’d only have one shot at this, I fought against the blackspots dancing in my eyes, and the tightness in my lungs as my hand reached the knife and wrapped around it. Holding it as firmly as I could, which was damn impossible with the strength seeping out at me with every passing second, my finger pressed down on the button.
The blade sprung from its holder. With as much strength as I couldmuster, I lifted my hand, and without giving it a second thought, I plunged the knife into Hendrix’s side, ramming it as deep as I could into his body.
There was resistance at first, but I kept pushing until the bladewedged in his side, right to the hilt, before I pulled it back out again. Warm blood spilled all over my hands, and the metallic tang of blood hit my nostrils.
Hendrix’s booming roar echoed around the room. His hands left mythroat as he twisted to see the damage. I sucked in precious air, ignoring his angry curses. I prepared myself to plunge the knife in a second time, but Hendrix saw my hand coming towards him, and he rolled off me before the blade made contact.
Taking the opportunity, I scrambled off the bed. I bounded over to thedoor, putting space in between us, the knife gripped in my hand. Momentarily forgetting about the damn lock, I tried the handle and pulled the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Spinning back around, I found Hendrix was off the bed, his hand holding his side, and blood seeping between his fingers.
I sincerely hoped I’d hit something vital.
