In the distance, Dex could hear a speedboat. They were coming for Winters. There was no fucking way Dex was letting him walk away.
“Don’t fight this, Dex,” Winters growled, producing a knife from inside his sleeve and catching Dex off guard. He sliced at Dex’s thigh, and Dex momentarily faltered. It had been a split second, but was enough for Winters to get the upper hand. “Just think of it like this. You’ll be joining dear Mom and Dad.”
Winters kicked at Dex, and Dex’s back hit another bollard, knocking the wind out of him. Winters sliced at him again, but Dex managed to grab his wrist and knock the knife out of his hand. It bounced on the rickety dock and plunged into the water. Winters was relentless. He threw an arm around Dex’s neck and put him in a choke hold, his knee pressing into Dex’s groin. Throwing a hand back, Dex grabbed the thick rope hanging from the bollard, quickly loosened it, and tossed it around Winters’s neck. With a fierce roar, Dex jerked the rope, and Winters choked, his fingers clutching the rope around his neck as Dex spun him, and kicked at the back of Winters’s legs, forcing him to his knees.
Gunfire erupted around the docks, and Dex pushed Winters down onto his stomach, kneeling on his back and pulling on the thick rope, tightening it around his neck. The speedboat that had been heading toward the dock made a sharp turn and headed in the opposite direction. Dex turned toward the lot of shipping containers he’d come from, and his heart swelled when he saw Destructive Delta sweeping through, rifles in hand as they moved in on Winters’s men.
Dex leaned in, snarling in Winters’s ear, “I should snap your neck.”
“Then do it,” Winters growled. “That way I won’t have to listen to any more of your mommy and daddy issues.”
Dex gritted his teeth and pulled on the rope, Winters gagging and gasping for breath under him. All he had to do was twist the rope, and it would be done. The man beneath him had caused so much pain. So much suffering. He’d had Dex’s parents killed. He tried to take Tony from him. Had sent a killer to torture him.
“You don’t deserve mercy,” Dex ground out through his teeth. He wanted to do it. God, he wanted to do it so bad.
“Dex.”
Dex looked up, surprised to find Sparks standing there. He hadn’t even seen her approach.
“Give me a good reason I shouldn’t end him right now.”
Sparks’s blue eyes moved from Dex to Winters, the black spreading until only a sliver of blue remained.
“Because death is too good for him.”
Dex considered her words. “Meaning?”
“Meaning I’m going to put him in the deepest, darkest, filthiest pit of hell, where he’s going to be made to suffer every hour of every day, but first he’s going to give up his operatives inside TIN before any more lives are lost.”
Winters let out a harsh laugh. “You stupid, deluded little girl. My people will find me.”
Sparks put her heel to Winters’s temple and leaned in. He hissed at the pain. “Your people are already bailing on you. How long do you think before they all jump ship to save their own hides? Especially since I let my superiors know we’ve detained you? Also, I may have alluded to your cooperation.”
Winters glared at her as he spat, “No one will believe that.”
“Thanks to your people, who are now turning traitor on you, TIN is moving in on your organization. Intel says the US branch of the Makhai is done.”
Winters went still. Guess they had their answer. Dex hauled Winters to his feet, and Sparks clamped black cuffs around his wrists and another around Winters’s neck. A row of red lights turned on, glowing on each device, accompanied by a brief high-pitched beep.
“I control these cuffs. One command, and enough electricity will go through your system to fry your insides.”
Dex smirked as he dropped the rope to the ground. “Talk about irony.” He turned to Sparks. “What about Wolf? How are you going to keep him from killing Winters?”
“I don’t need to.”
“I don’t understand.”
The coldness in Sparks’s eyes sent a chill through Dex.
“I’ve already made a deal with Wolf. I get Winters first. And when I’m done with him, he’s all Wolf’s.”
Dex patted Winters’s shoulder. “I wish I could say it was nice knowing you, but I hope you rot in hell.”
TIN operatives flooded the scene, and they escorted Winters toward an unmarked armored car. Dex hoped Winters sucked in as much of the sun as he could, because the asshole wasn’t going to be seeing the light of day any time soon. Whatever Sparks had in store for him, there was Wolf waiting at the other end.
Sloane hurried toward him, looking a little worse for wear. His arm was bloodied, and he held on to his side, but he gave Dex a reassuring grin. Destructive Delta jogged behind him, helmets on, full tactical gear and rifles in hand, all ready to kick some more ass. Dex stood there a moment, just taking in the sight, unable to keep from puffing up his chest a little bit. This was his team. His family. Even with Dex and Sloane heading for new adventures, their family was always going to be there to back them up.
When Sloane reached him, he threw his arms around Dex. “Thank God you’re okay.” Sloane held him close, his hand cradling Dex’s head.