The second guy screamed in pain as the bullet pierced his hand.
“Fuck!” the man howled as he fell to his knees, saving me the trouble of having to put him there. “My hand! You fucker!”
While the cheap motel near the airport wasn’t exactly teeming with people, it wasn’t completely empty either so I reached the man in three strides and pressed the silencer of my gun against his forehead which instantly shut him up. I heard the door slam shut behind me and then Cain was dragging the other guy over and shoving him to the floor next to the guy I really wanted to put another bullet through – one that would shut him up forever. Cain hadn’t bothered to get his own gun out, but he dropped the first guy’s gun on one of the beds and then stepped back.
Because this was my show.
The men who had attacked Tristan looked like mobster-wannabes with their cheap dark suits and slicked-back hair. One guy had a slightly larger build than the other, but compared to Tristan, they were both hulking monsters.
“Hold out your hands,” I said coldly. While I had specific plans for these men, I had one important thing to take care of first.
Both men were shaking and crying, but they instantly complied. God, this was too fucking easy.
It took only a second to find what I was looking for. I lowered my gun and stepped in front of the man who’d answered the door. Blood covered the lower part of his face and shirt, but my attention was on the series of numbers and letters tattooed on the fingers of the man’s right hand…the hand he’d used to break Tristan’s finger.
“Did you like hearing him scream?” I asked the man quietly.
“I don’t know you, man,” the man stammered. “I don’t know-”
Before he could finish the rest of his sentence, I reached down and twisted his pinkie finger on his right hand until the bone snapped. The man let out an anguished scream, but cut it off just as quickly when I put my gun against his head. Tears streamed down his face as he held his injured hand with his other hand.
“Do you know me now?” I asked.
The man nodded weakly as he tried to muffle his sobs.
I kept my gun on the man and then looked at the other guy who refused to make eye contact with me. “Is he right handed or left handed?” I asked the guy.
“Ri…right-handed,” the man managed to get out.
I turned my attention back to the man in front of me. “I’ll ask you again, did you like hearing him scream?”
The man began shaking his head emphatically. “We just wanted our money…it wasn’t personal. His father-”
“Not personal?” I asked coolly. “Guess what, asshole?” I muttered before I grabbed his hand and nodded to Cain. Cain stepped forward and got behind the guy.
“You,” I began as I put my gun against his thumb and pulled the trigger, instantly severing the man’s finger.
He screamed in agony, but the sound was quickly muffled when Cain covered his mouth with his hand and wrapped his arm around the guy’s neck to hold him still.
“Made.” Another shot and the next finger was gone.
“It.” Middle finger gone.
“Very.” I watched his ring finger fall to the floor.
“Personal.” I finally felt some satisfaction when the last finger was gone and the man’s muffled cries filled the room. Cain released the man once he was sure the worst of the screams had passed and the man fell to the floor and held his bloody stump with his other hand.
Cain went to the bathroom and returned a moment later with a wet washcloth which he handed to me. I used it to wipe the spray of blood from my hands. I’d have to check my face later. I’d have to change my shirt too, before I went back to the hotel in case Tristan and Brennan were still there.
Just the memory of seeing the two of them wrapped in each other’s arms when I’d left this morning did something funny to my insides. I hadn’t joined them, despite wanting to, but I had taken the time to help them get cleaned up before I’d told them both to stay together today since only Phoenix would be watching them. I hadn’t told them where I was going. I also hadn’t escaped without both men kissing me deeply before they’d snuggled against each other. Brennan had even whispered that he loved me against my lips before he’d drifted off to sleep, his sated expression and wide smile making my insides ache.
I hadn’t meant for any of it to happen. Not asking Tristan to let me hold him. Not kissing Tristan. Not making love to them both. Which is what it was, despite the fact that I hadn’t actually been inside of Tristan. Unlike the many times I’d been with Drake and one of his pets, I’d felt connected to both men. I’d been with both men. And the part I was struggling with the most was that they’d both been with me. With Drake, I’d always had the feeling that I could get up and walk away from him and whoever he was fucking and he wouldn’t have noticed. With Brennan and Tristan, I hadn’t felt that way. Not even close.