Page 81 of A Touch of Frost
“Funny.” Jesse scoffed. “After what happened in that alley in Montenegro, you still believe she needs protection. But just in case, I’m going to show her how to snap your fucking neck without her getting bruised. You know? If you decided to come for her again.”
Striker growled and surged from his chair.
Maybe he thought I’d be terrified, but I merely sat there, watching his face glow in an unhealthy rage red.
I didn’t so much as flinch.
“Am I supposed to be scared?” I asked him.
Striker said nothing, but the anger in his eyes stunned me.
I watched as Jesse moved behind him, gripped his shoulder and slammed him back into his chair.
“Sit your ass down.” Jesse snapped. “Don’t make me tell you again.”
Striker immediately soured. “My lawyer says I shouldn’t talk to you.”
“That’s fine.” I crossed my legs. “You don’t have to speak, just listen. For a while after you left me for dead, I blamed myself. Stupid of me, really but there’s the truth. And for a while, I wouldn’t trust anyone. I wandered the world alone, a ghost. And as long as I’d done that you get to walk around free, hurting others and stealing everything you can get your rotten little hands on.”
“You need to shut up.”
I leaned forward. “And then this amazing thing happened—I met some awesome people and began healing again. They helped me to realize that you’re nothing but a pathetic little man who can only hold power over me if I let you.”
“You bitch.”
“Is that the best you got?” I smirked. “You see, a man who would pop out of the dark and double tap a woman to the chest is coward. That man, and trust me, I use that term very loosely. That man doesn’t deserve to wear the uniform. Hell, he doesn’t deserve to be called a man.”
He jerked forward but I merely caught him by the back of the neck and slammed his face into the table.
When he lurched upward again, blood pooled from his nose.
“At first I wanted to ask you why.” I continued. “Now, I don’t care. But know this, when they put me on that stand, Iwillbury you. I’ll tell them everything and when I’m done, you won’t be able to hurt anyone else—no other soldier will have to go through what I went through and that makes me smile. Then, after this is all over and you’re cooling your jets in a six by eight for the rest of your life, I want you to think of me, happy, living my life.”
Striker lost his mind then.
He started ranting and raving.
He swore and cussed, but I calmly rose from my chair to stand beside Jesse who slammed his hand in the door to alert the guards. They entered and was removing him from the room, but he struggled while still throwing all kinds of expletives my way.
Jesse rested a large palm to the small of my back to lead me out the other door, but I stopped and turned.
“Go to hell!” Striker hollered.
“Hey, wait.” I called.
Everyone paused.
I walked over to stand in front of Striker and smiled. “Go to hell?” I asked. “Bitch, I’ll be driving the bus. But don’t worry, I’ll see you there.”
That only made him go even madder.
I chuckled and exited the room with Jesse beside me.
Mozart and Wolf awaited us outside.
“Feeling better?” Wolf asked.
I grinned. “More than better.” I told him. “Anyone care to go for some lunch? It’s on me.”
