Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 27182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
“You done?” I ask.
He grins through a bloody mouth. “I know who you are.”
“Good.”
“You’re the fucker who broke Shady’s wrist.”
“Yeah, and by the time I’m done, you’ll wish it was only your wrist. You’re about to find out just how creative I can get.”
I glance in the back through the open door and spot Cutter laying on the leather seats. He’s out of it, but he doesn’t look hurt. I hope he’s okay.
“What are you going to do?” he asks with a bloody grin as I grab his collar and pin him against his truck. “She’ll never be safe again. I’ll make sure of that. You can’t protect her forever. You fucking pigs can only do so much.”
I dig my forearm into his neck. “I’m not a cop right now.”
“Good,” he says. “Neither am I.”
He pulls a switchblade out of his jacket and swings it at me.
I catch his wrist and start slamming my fist into his face over and over. A car speeds by, but they don’t stop. Good. I don’t want any witnesses for what comes next.
I twist his wrist until he screams and then I headbutt him so hard we both stagger back.
He swings the knife again—but it’s slow and telegraphed. I dodge it and then give him a hard jab in the nose, following it up with a hard right to his chin. His legs buckle as his back slams against the purring truck.
“Ahhh!” he screams in frustration as blood pours from his nose. “I’m going to kill that bitch!”
He swings the knife wildly and slips on the ground. I don’t even have to move.
“No one steals from me!” he screams. “That dog was my property! I’m going to bleed her dry!”
Rage rushes through my body as I watch him swing the knife again. A violent primal feeling takes over—the caveman part of me that wants to keep my girl safe at all costs.
“I’m going to kill you,” he hisses as he swings the knife wildly. “Then I’m going to slit that dog’s throat, and then I’m going to find that cunt and do the same to her.”
I’ve heard enough.
I lunge forward and hit him with three hard punches—two in the face, one in the gut. He collapses like a sack of bricks, dropping the knife.
“You’re not going to touch her,” I snarl as I grab a fistful of his hair and pull him up to his feet. “She’s mine.”
I slam my fist into his head one more time and then toss him into the truck behind the wheel. He slumps forward, unconscious. I hear his fowl ragged breaths as I grab the seatbelt and use it to secure his wrists to the steering wheel.
I’m breathing heavily as I open the back door with my bloody hands and look at Cutter. He’s out cold, but he’s breathing. The tranquilizer will be wearing off soon and it’s time to get him home.
I gently slide my hands under his body and pick him up, carefully stabilizing his limp head.
“It’s okay, buddy,” I whisper as I carry him to my car. “It will all be over soon. Our girl is waiting for you and you’ll get all the belly rubs you want.”
I slide him onto the backseat of my cruiser, close the door, and open my trunk with determination pounding in my chest.
I grab a road flare as I glare at the sideways Escalade.
This ends now.
There’s no hesitation as I march back over, crossing the dark empty highway. I pop the cap off the Escalade’s gas tank, throw the truck into neutral, and wish Angelo a nice time in hell.
My muscles strain and flex as I push the truck back as hard as I can. Getting it off the shoulder takes every ounce of strength I have, but I manage to get it out. After that, rolling it across the pavement is easy.
It rolls to a stop in front of the cliff.
I take a few deep breaths as I take one last look at him. His eyes open as his head rolls to the side. He perks up when it dawns on him what’s about to happen.
“You’re never going to touch her again,” I say as I light the red flare.
He struggles against the seatbelt that’s pinning his wrists in place and he starts to scream. “I have money! I’ll make you rich!”
“I have everything I need,” I say as I head to the back. “I have her.”
I shove the flare into the gas tank, then push the truck as hard as I can, grunting and straining as it picks up speed. Tires crunch over gravel. Angelo’s screams echo through the silence of the mountains.
The weight leaves my hands as gravity takes over and the truck rolls off the cliff, vanishing into the night.
There’s a few seconds of silence before a crash and a thunderous explosion lights up the sky in orange and red.