“You…” Reg began, but froze when Luis chuckled.
“He really shoulda let me have my fun with you,” Luis said, his hand gliding along the top of the table as he wound his way around to where I stood. I didn’t bat an eye, my hands under the table as if I might lift it at any time...I couldn’t, of course, the thing would have given Dom problems at full strength. Of course, he wasn’t at full strength now and wouldn’t be for a long time, and all because of two of the three men in this room. “I told him that. I told him I thought you were going to end up being trouble.”
“And does being correct taste like victory?” I asked him calmly. “Or do you find it has bitter undertones?”
“You think you’re gonna win, don’t you?” he asked calmly, but I wasn’t fooled. Reg was the more emotional of the two, but Luis was the unstable one. His sanity was a thin line, held in place by self-control and the other two men. “How’s it gonna feel when you find out how wrong you are?”
“Is this what you wanted?” I asked him as he drew near, showing the hand holding my little ‘surprise’ from the office, but maintaining my stance. “To get this close to me? You aren’t my type, I’m afraid.”
“No, I know your type,” he said as he came to a stop, looking at what I was holding, and after apparently deciding it wasn’t an immediate threat, brought his attention back to me as he leaned in closer. “Big, not very bright. A lot tougher than I thought, though. When I told my boys to take him out, and they told me they got him good, I thought he was done for.”
“He’s tougher than anyone in this room, I’ll give you that,” I said, my free hand tightening.
“Yeah, but he’s not invincible, is he? I think once I get my chance, I’ll make you wish he had died after getting hit,” he saidwith a grin. “And he’ll definitely be wishin’ he had. Maybe I’ll see how tough he is after I’ve worked through some of that family stuff. You fucked up. All you did was piss us off, and we do not like to get pissed off.”
“See, the real mistake you made was going for him instead of me,” I said. “A mistake you won’t get to make twice.”
I drew my hand up, drawing his attention to my surprise. All that meant was he didn’t see my right hand tighten on the knife tucked into a holster under the table. It had been a while since I’d been forced to be this close to someone to end things, but I found it came easily as it slid from the sheath, and I drove it up into his gut. His eyes were wide, shock and pain flashing across his face as I stared back, pulling the knife out and driving it into his gut again, feeling warmth splash down my hand and wrist, giving his gut a third stab.
“Is this close enough for you?” I asked, ignoring the roar that came from Reg as he got to his feet, and I yanked the knife out, ignoring the thick splat ofsomethingfalling out of Luis as I sliced across his throat. There was resistance, and I vaguely realized I’d hit bone, but I watched Luis crumple backwards, the life spewing from his gut and throat as his hands flopped helplessly on the ground.
Reg let out a spate of furious, garbled Spanish and reached into his coat.
Time for the next step, honey.
She was right, and I turned, holding up my surprise and pushing down on the trigger, holding it tight. “I would be exceptionally careful about pulling that gun and firing, unless you want an express ride to hell with the rest of us.”
Leo was on his feet as well, but he was faster than Reg, who wasn’t listening to a word I said. He grabbed the gun as Reg fumbled to get it out, yanking it from his hand and to my surprise, smashed it against the side of his face. Reg gave a cryand stumbled forward, blood splattering on the table as he fell against it, the gash on the side of his head from the butt of the gun leaking.
“Idiot,” Leo said harshly.
“You…” Reg began, but Leo interrupted.
“Dead man trigger?” Leo asked, but I could see the way his eyes were trying not to dart around the room to look for the explosives.
“You can find evidence on the underside of the table, dead center,” I said, nodding at the table.
Leo raised a brow, but crouched to look under the table to find I wasn’t lying. “I see.”
“I learned a little lesson from the last time I dealt with these two lovely gentlemen,” I told him, smelling the sickly scent of copper-laden blood and the foulness of Luis’ punctured guts. Reg was where he had collapsed, and I could hear a low moan as he undoubtedly watched Luis die. “I never forgot that.”
“Clearly,” Leo said, and I saw a drop of sweat form on his forehead.
“I have a long memory,” I said, walking to the corner of the table opposite where Luis lay, and where Reg was still huddling, his eyes locked on Luis’...well, if he weren’t a body yet, he soon would be. “How does it feel, Reg?”
He looked up at me, his eyes wide and confused, horror and pain filling his vision. I understood completely. I had been in his position only a couple of weeks ago. I had felt lost, watching as Dom’s life left his body right in front of me. Blood had covered my hands just like it did now, but this blood felt like satisfaction, not like the despair I had been filled with as I’d held tight to Dom, praying it would be enough to keep him hanging on until real help could arrive.
I promise you this: those who would hurt you or your family...they will die screaming.
Well, Luis hadn’t died screaming, but Reg certainly made enough of a fuss as he’d watched Luis drop, knowing there was nothing he could do.
“How does it feel?” I repeated. “To sit there, helpless, as you watch the person that mattered more than anything die in front of you? You can’t save him, just like I couldn’t save Dom.”
“He’s still alive,” Reg spat at me.
“Dom? He is, through his own tenacity and the skill of medical workers, and perhaps a little grace of the good Lord thrown in,” I said with a shrug. “Leo here should be glad Dom survived, though. Otherwise, I would have scorched the Earth so badly there would have been no chance for any regrowth.”
“You think you’re going to get away with this?” Reg hissed, grabbing the corner of the table to get to his feet. “We don’t forget those who fuck with us, you can believe that. You think your memory is long?”
