I’m the largest of the four of us, and I stretch out my hand. “Give it to me.”
The two men flank me as I pull it back and slam with all my might against the plate at the door knob. It gives immediately and almost falls open on one strike.
“One more, and we’ll be in,” Freddie says as I’m pulling it back.
I let the ram fly with all my strength, and the door falls away to reveal a sight that sinks my insides. Ava is on the floor in a heap. Blix is sitting on the floor in a macabre state. His back is to the cot and blood soaks his neck and shirt running all the way down to his pants.
Gorilla Man and another man I recognize from the images on Freddie’s computer stand over Kass, who is tied in a way that only makes me run harder. I grab Gorilla by the front of his shirt, and before he can respond, my fist makes contact with his neck. He falls back, most likely dead.
Freddie has the other guy, and the Bowie knife is out of my boot. I’m slicing through the cords, and as they snap, her feet fall, a little moan aches from her throat straight to my heart. Her arms go limp at her sides.
“Kass?” I say, petting her head.
I only get a moment to check on her when I feel that fucker Blix
moving at my side. From the corner of my eye, I see as he reaches back then slams his fist into my leg causing an explosion of pain to rip through my calf.
“FUCK!” I yell, dropping to my knee.
I look down, and the handle of a punch dagger is sticking out of my leg. In that moment, Kass lunges past me. She’s off the cot, grasping the handle of the Bowie knife. Sunlight blazes through the large warehouse doors as Rex slides them open to join us, and with a broken noise somewhere between a scream and a sob, Kass jams the blade straight into Blix’s right eye just before collapsing onto her stomach.
“Jesus!” Freddie yells from behind me.
My rage is no match for hers, but when Blix makes another sound, my vision tunnels. Filling my mind is the torture he’s inflicted. I see my beautiful Kass hogtied and bleeding, I see all the victims he’s tortured and killed, and I remember my promise. Dragging him off the floor, I slam his back against the wall. His artery is cut, the knife still protrudes from his face, and that fucker refuses to die.
“Look at me,” I say, boring into his remaining eye. No drop of humanity is left. He’s pure evil.
“I see you, motherfucker,” he snarls like a rabid dog. “I own you.”
“You’ve never owned me.” My fist is tightening on his neck, and he coughs up blood. “I’m the angel of death.”
I might not have time to break every bone in his body, but I can get the one that counts. Lifting my right hand, I place it on the side of his head. Rotating the hand on his neck, I catch his jaw, and with one swift twist, the satisfying Crunch echoes up my arms.
His entire body goes limp, and I take my hands away, allowing him to fall into the heap of garbage he is. I turn away, and a flash of pain shoots through my leg.
“Shit,” I hiss, reaching down to extract the push dagger from my muscle. I drop it on the floor and return to Kass. I’m injured, but from my time in the military, I know it’s minor.
Kass is on the cot, her eyes still closed. Her beautiful hair is pulled away from her face in a crude knot, and her eyes are swollen from crying. A nasty purple gash is across her forehead, and she’s wearing enormous grey sweatpants.
She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I sit on the cot and gather her into my arms, lifting her onto my lap. She begins to cry. “Is it over?”
Her whole body is shaking, and she grips my shirt. I have to blink a few times myself.
“It’s over,” I say, gently kissing her head, stroking my hand down the back of her hair. “I’ve got you.”
“Logan…” Her voice breaks, and I feel her small body shudder in my arms.
I only tighten my hold on her. “Shh,” I say, kissing her again. “Don’t cry, my Sass. I’ve got you.”
Freddie is across from me tending to Ava. She’s not bloody, but she’s wobbly. We need to get both of them to the hospital immediately. Stefano has Taz contained, and Dez appears dead on the floor. We’re simply waiting for backup.
Nothing But the Truth
Kass
Panic strangles my throat. Where am I? The smell of bleach burns my nose, and a nonstop beeping is coming from somewhere above me. It’s too dark to see forms, and my arm is restrained to the bed, which makes me panic even more.