Something about him is almost familiar, but I can’t put my finger on how or where I would know him from, and none of the rest of them seems even the least bit familiar.
“I get to do it?” Zander jumps up and down, making another of the quiet ones rub at the bridge of his nose.
When they first showed up, I thought they were a unit; they worked together doing jobs like a group of mercenaries, and while that may still be true, they're more than just working together.
Muffled screams pull my attention back to Carter and Zander, who sits on top of his back. His hands are no longer bound behind his back. Instead, Zander has it trapped under his foot; the other is bent behind his back, stuck under his ass, despite the way Carter thrashes around.
And he’s thrashing, all right, and for good reason. The hand under Zan’s boot has only his pinkie and ring finger exposed, and Zan is currently sawing off said pinkie.
A souvenir.
I’m glad they're on our side.
By the time he’s done, Carter is still, and I get the feeling he passed out. It’s probably for the best, so we don’t draw too much attention down here, though I can’t say I don’t wish he hadn't had to endure it all.
The second it pops free, Zander is on his feet, running it over to Jade and presenting it to her like it’s a priceless diamond. The way she looks at him tells me he could have brought her a rock, and she still would have loved it because she loves him.
“Thanks, babe.” She presses a kiss to his cheek before she turns to me. “Mind if I steal a baggie?”
I shake my head and know I should probably go and help her find one, but A, I have no idea where they are myself, and B, I’m not too keen on going near a severed finger.
“Damn it, Zander.” Yet another otherwise quiet guy moves past the others toward Carter before dropping to his knees next to him and ripping a bit of his shirt free to press against the nub where his pinkie used to be.
The puddle of blood was considerably larger than it had been a moment ago, and this man seemed to know it required action, while the rest of us stood around.
“If you let him bleed out, you aren’t exactly letting them handle him, you know, Demon,” he growls, and while his words sound annoyed, he doesn’t actually seem annoyed.
Jade rolls her eyes and mocks him as she continues to move around the kitchen in search of a bag.
“Yeah, yeah, you seem like you have it under control.”
Demon, so that must be Mr. Kane, Vince’s original contact.
At least I have a few names, I guess.
Though if I’m being honest, I hope never to need them again after today.
After that, everything wraps up quickly. Jade finds a bag and snugly wraps up her pinkie, and while I’m extremely curious, I swallow down my questions. Now isn't the time for them, and honestly, I’m not sure I really want to know.
With a quick goodbye, they're gone. The only proof that they were ever here is the unconscious fucker bleeding on my kitchen floor.
“Take him down to the cellar,” I tell Vince, who seems more than happy to.
This ends now, and once it does, I’ll ask Kat to marry me. I couldn’t before, not in good conscience, knowing I was failing her, but this will be the last tie to her past.
She was made for us, and I’d kill a lot more than this one man if that’s what it took to make Kat a Lawson.
Just the thought is enough to light my blood on fire.
Asouvenir.
My mind races as I try to think of what she might possibly want from Carter, but each idea is stranger than the last, and eventually I push the thought away.
She can take whatever she wants from him; I couldn’t care less. Honestly, she could have never brought him here, and I would have been just fine. I don’t need him dead; I just need him to leave me alone. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure that’s only wishful thinking to believe that’s even a possibility.
I know Nathan and Vince don’t believe it. I saw it in the way they looked at him.
Carter is going to die at their hands, and while I hate the thought of them doing all of this for me, I can’t deny that it also feels good.
