Page 46 of 23 Hours

“Not like this one. Not like her. Not like him.”

Nope. We’re not going down this path. I don’t need to hear this crap when I’ve got a job to do. “I’mgood,” I emphasize, so he’ll drop it.

Blimp chuckles and pats the holster under his cut. “’Kay, ’cause I won’t say nothin’ if you wanna hang back to keep an eye on things. Let the young bucks handle the kills.” He winks. A cocky half-smile parts his long, gangly, gray beard.

What-the-fuck-ever.

Snickering in return, I shake my head and follow the same route the rest took through the woods. “Come on, Blimp, killin’ is half the fun.” I wave for him to catch up.

The pungent scent of pot drifts as he lights a joint. “This is gonna be fun.”

Yes. It is.

Putting sick fucks to ground is the best part of our runs, ’cause it sure ain’t leaving my woman behind.

I wonder what she’s doin’ right now…

Did she get the flowers I sent?

Picturing her smile like some lovesick idiot, I stumble over a fallen branch and catch myself on a nearby tree trunk before I bite the dust.

Blimp yucks it up at my expense. “Watch where you’re goin’, brother.”

I flip him off.

A blood-curdling scream echoes through the trees, gunshots trailing a moment later.

Fuck. We’re missing the action.

Charging through the remaining forest, Blimp at my six, my phone blows up in my pocket. I ignore it as we step over two dead bastards lying in a puddle of their own blood on the cracked asphalt parking lot.

More screams ensue.

Together, we kick through the front, mud-caked doors of the hotel, armed and ready for whatever’s waiting for us on the other side. It’s dark. The cloying stench of mildew and blood is a bitch on the senses. Our resident sadistic fuck, Kade, cackles his love for death somewhere in the bowels of this hell.

Staying close, Blimp obeys my hand signals as we hunt the sexual predators like a well-oiled machine. This ain’t our first rodeo.

The first closed door we reach, I gesture for Blimp to cover me as I kick in the rusted handle. It caves easily, and wouldn’t ya know it, a man stops mid-pump to look over his shoulder at us. Rays of sunshine filter through the cracks in the boarded windows as the monster’s glassy eyes land on mine.

Pop.

A single bullet barrels through his skull. Blood sprays the wall like a modern art piece.

Sayonara, asshole.

The lifeless man drops to the side, landing half on top of what appears to be a younger female. I’ll spare you the gory details as I shove his fat, hairy form off the girl and cover her with an old, disgusting sheet I find on the floor next to the bed. Her eyes are closed, her body deathly still as I check for a pulse on the side of her throat.

Alive.

A sigh of relief escapes me as I notice raw track marks littering both of her forearms.

My jaw clenches and I turn to Blimp.

“One down,” he growls, his gaze flipping between me and the open doorway. “She’s gonna be fine. Next one’s mine.”

A nod is all I offer.

Shit just got real.

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