Maddox knew it would happen. In his head he’d played out the scenario, but when he saw mutant one and two move in and curl their thick fingers around her arms with enough force to make her wince in pain, he saw red.
Maddox threw a hard right at the one closest to him, while snapping out his left hand and catching the guy closest to Brynn in the temple with his knuckles. He locked eyes with Maddox, his eyes glazing over, his mouth falling open, and he dropped to the floor in a boneless pile of muscle.
Vargas glanced down at the unconscious guard. “Ahh, it seems the boyfriend is skilled. That’s good. I have a few skills of my own.” Vargas snapped his fingers, and three more people poured in. One carried a chair, another brought restraints, and the third a carving kit.
The knives were made for torture. The blades varied in shape, size, and sharpness. Some of the blades hadn’t been use in a hundred years, as technology advanced, and became collector’s items for enthusiasts.
And apparently this sick bastard.
Maddox gave the signal for the extra man in the room, and another signal to let the team know that the situation inside had escalated.
The hand signals the team used were normal movements anyone would use. A pinch of their index finger and thumb, their thumb grazing their palm, crossing their fingers, etc. It was the combination of normal movements and their order that told the men outside what was happening inside.
Chances were they knew better than Maddox how many people were in the house, but this way they knew how many Maddox saw, how the situation changed, and how many they needed to keep track of that Maddox couldn’t see.
Brynn’s eyes went wide, and the blood drained from her face. “I don’t know anything.”
“Oh, but that’s not true, is it?” He selected a knife with a hooked blade and twisted it in the light. “Word is you know plenty, and were all too eager to tell the authorities. You know what happens to pretty young things like you when they get involved in matters that are none of their concern?”
Her eyes flickered to the knife, but quickly darted away. She squared her shoulders, filling Maddox with pride for her bravery.
“Do you really think I’m going to let you touch me?” she asked.
He chuckled andtsked, waving his index finger back and forth. “Silly girl, do you really think you have a choice?”
The two men at the door rushed at her, avoiding Maddox this time, and grabbed her by her ankles, dragging her kicking and screaming off the bed. She flung her arms out, fighting like a wildcat, scratching and clawing at anyone she could get her hands on.
Her strength and fight caused so much commotion that three of the guards stepped in to help, leaving Maddox to his own devices and giving him enough time to pull the 9mm out from under his pillow.
They had secured one ankle, and struggled to hold the other still while Vargas watched. His eyes lit up with anticipation, his fingers flexing, and he smacked his lips.
The sick fuck was getting a perverse pleasure from the way she fought.
“Keep it up, my dear. The more you fight, the more of a show I’ll get with each slice of the blade.” He dragged a finger over her temple, down her cheek, in the same pattern as the scar on his face. “I wonder if you’re a bleeder.” He touched his own cheek. “I’m a bleeder. They liked that about me.”
She wrenched her head back and spit at him.
Vargas raised a brow and pulled the gold handkerchief from his breast pocket, wiping his arm. “A wildcat. I like that. Maybe before I finish you off I’ll let my men have their way with you, see how much of that fight is still there when you’re laid open like a fish and they’re fucking you.”
The picture he painted lodged in Maddox’s mind, the image so vile that he didn’t care what happened; he didn’t wait for the perfect moment. With no finesse, just pure hatred, he launched himself off the bed with a snarl and lunged at Vargas.
Vargas’ sharp look and mouth falling open in surprise was his reward right before he pushed the barrel of his 9mm into Vargas’ temple. “Go ahead; just try to touch her, you sick son of a bitch. I dare you. You won’t even get to brush her skin with a single finger before I spill your brains all over this floor.”
Vargas raised his hands, palms out in front of his chest. “You’re making a huge mistake.”
“No, I don’t think I am. Best case scenario, all you fucks go to jail for a long time. Worst case, they don’t, but it won’t matter for you because there’ll be a bullet in your head.”
Vargas eyed his guys, who had frozen in their spots the minute Maddox aimed the gun at their boss. With a nod from Vargas they all backed away from Brynn, and she took the opportunity to release her ankles.
“Why did you kill Cullen Shepherd?” Maddox asked, pressing the gun harder into Vargas’ temple.
“Ahh, so you’re not just the boyfriend.” He laughed. “I never said I killed him.”
“You don’t have to, there was an eyewitness. It was you. Now why?”
Vargas glanced toward Maddox. “You know you’re not getting out of here alive, right? You might as well lay down the gun. If you do, maybe I’ll be kind enough to kill you instead of forcing you to watch what we’re going to do to your girl over there.”
Brynn backed away from the men and toward Maddox’s other side.
