“Plenty. I’ll go get them. Try not to go too crazy.”
That’s his way of saying don’t kill the man. We could cover it up, but it would be a hell of a lot of work.
Smoke leaves, and I want to ask him to take Jane with him, but she is frozen on the other side of Evan. I need to get him away from her.
“Well, come on, big man.” I wave him forward. “Come take care of me so you can take care of her, because I won’t leave this place unless I am in a body bag.”
Evan’s eyes flare. He doesn’t want to fight me. I can see it behind those evil eyes, but he refuses to allow me to show him up.
He lunges forward, trying to use the knife to stab me.
I hear Jane call something out, but I ignore her. Tank has her. He won’t let anything happen to her.
Instead, I focus on the fight in front of me. I duck the knife, bringing my fist to his kidney. He grunts, but spins on me. I smile, waving him forward again. That only angers him more.
This time, when he comes for me, he changes direction, the knife slicing across my shoulder. It’s not deep enough to do any real damage, but the burn spurs me on. I land another perfectly placed punch to his ribs.
He screams when I feel one give way. A broken rib isn’t anything to joke about.
Still, he stands tall, his hands now shaking.
“Come on. Choke me like you do her. I want to know what it feels like,” I taunt him.
He goes on the offensive again, but this time, I chop his arm, making him drop the knife, then I spin him away from it and into the closest wall. He doesn’t go down without a fight, though.
He kicks and swings his arms wildly, hitting me a few times. I ignore the pain, my hand coming to his neck as I hold him up against the wall. His hands reach for my arm as my hand closes around him, cutting off his air supply.
“This is how she felt every time you would threaten her. This is the fear she felt, wondering if this was the moment she would die. This is what you would do to that woman, who is the best thing to grace this Earth,” I tell him as he sputters, trying to save himself.
I see it then. The fear. He thinks this is how he will die. He would deserve it too.
“Mac, buddy. We need him alive,” Tank reminds me.
The red haze has taken over, though. I’m too angry to stop. If I let him go, he still breathes, and she is still in danger.
I need to eliminate him for her.
“Mac, let him go.”
Evan is looking a little blue now. His hands are barely moving as his eyes dim.
Only a few more seconds.
“Jane is freaking out and needs you. Save her,” Tank barks out.
That has me dropping Evan to the floor, ignoring his gasps as I turn to my woman.
Tank was right. She isn’t in this room with us right now. The guilt sits in. She hates violence, and I just made her witness me dealing it out.
I’m in her face in a second, cupping her cheek.
“Jane?”
She doesn’t answer me. It’s like she’s not even here with us.
“Jane,” I growl out.
I can’t lose her. I refuse to lose her. I need to bring her back to me.
