Page 79 of Sins (The Sins Trilogy 1)
Chapter Thirty-Five
Anthony
I wrench the son of a bitch off Iris. Thornton hollers, “What the fu—”
My fist lands in his face. Blood spurts from his nose and a killing rage roars through me, along with the cold knowledge that I was too late to stop the bastard from hurting her.
Just like I was too late to save Katherine from bleeding out.
Just like I was too late to prevent Caleb from touching Ivy.
Just like I was too late to save Ivy from dying.
I tried to reach Iris when she stepped away from the piano. But a business acquaintance stopped me to chat, and Jamie Thornton led her away.
I only listened halfheartedly, my gaze tracking the two as they headed toward the garden. I had no clue why he led her outside, but if I had, I would’ve walked away from my acquaintance, manners be damned.
I sweep Jamie’s feet out from under him, dropping him to the ground. My foot strikes his soft belly, chest and ribs with cold, ruthless precision. Thornton curls up, moaning pathetically, but it doesn’t help. I’ve had years of kickboxing training, and he doesn’t even know how to cover up properly.
“Stop!” he begs, putting a hand out. I break his middle finger with a vicious twist. It’s the finger he used to break the strap on her dress. Jamie howls.
“Come on,” I say. “We both know what you really want.”
“She was just playing hard to get,” Jamie whines. “Look at her dress. The bitch was asking for it.”
Fucking bastard. Always blaming women. “And look at the way you behaved. You’re asking for it.” I deliver another brutal kick.
Jamie mewls and sobs, tries to crawl away. His face is glistening with tears, snot and blood.
“Oh no, you aren’t getting away this easy.” I follow him, looming. “A parasite like you doesn’t deserve to live. The world will be better without you in it.” I pull him up and punch his face a few more times until it’s a complete mess. Then I drop him.
He collapses like a rag doll, but I know he hasn’t passed out. I’ve been very careful to keep him conscious. He needs to feel every bit of pain.
“Stop it, you’re going to kill him! Do you want to go to jail for murder?”
Everything inside me goes still. It’s the same thing Ivy said when I beat the shit out of Caleb. The sound of my breathing’s too loud as I slowly turn and face her.
She catches her breath. “You… You’re the guy from Hammers and Strings.”
“What did you say?” I take a step toward her.
She retreats a step, licking her lip nervously. “I said we met at Hammers and Strings.”
Another step. “Before that.”
“Um. That you were going to kill him?”
“Why?”
She stares at me, half wary, half confused. “You were beating him pretty hard. You know people can die from getting beaten up, right?”
“Is that all?” I say, continuing to approach.
“He’s a creep, but not a deserve-to-die creep.” The heel of her shoe gets caught in a crack, and she loses her balance.
I jump forward and wrap an arm around her waist before she can fall.
I can feel shivers running through her, smell the scent of tiger lilies. There’s still that same mole on her face.
