Caleb grins. “Deal.”
The cards are dealt. Every twitch, every tell, I track it all. Caleb loses by a hair, on purpose. Felix’s smirk blooms, rot in human form. The smug twist of his mouth says he already thinks she’s his.
He has no idea what’s waiting for him.
Tamsin’s voice rises, her body tensing, but Felix moves faster. His hand snaps out, fingers locking around her arm before he slaps her across the face. The sound detonates in my skull, and my vision narrows, myblood boiling, and I’m already halfway up before I realize it.
Beau’s arm slams across my chest, pinning me back. “Easy, Eiden. She can handle it.”
“The fuck she can! He touched her! He put his hands on her!” Every muscle in me strains to break free, to put my fist through his skull, my jaw clenches so hard the pop echoes in my ears.
Caleb’s timing is perfect when he grabs her, hauling her over his shoulder. “I’ll take her,” he says, voice cold as steel. “She’ll do as I tell her.”
Felix grins, hungry and ugly. “Don’t worry. The more she fights, the better it will be.”
He downs the last of his drink and follows Caleb, convinced he’s walking toward his own private birthday rape session. Tamsin nails the act, yelling, twisting, her voice cracking in just the right places. I know her too well to be fooled, but Felix is buying every second. His eyes burn with the kind of sickness you can’t scrub clean.
They take the side path by the garden, away from the noise of the guests. Two of Felix’s guards step onto the boat for a final sweep, but they don’t notice the hidden compartment. Beau and I crouch in the dark, silent, every second stretching tight as barbed wire.
“All clear, boss,” one of the guards calls.
Caleb throws her onto the bed in the back and Felix steps in after him, leering as if he’s already unwrapping her. “Just don’t leave a mark on her face,” Caleb says, his performance flawless enough to make my teeth grind. He grabs a bottle and strolls out, vanishing into the trees where Dane waits with his mask and gear.
Outside, the guards shift position. Inside, Felix lunges. Tamsin kicks him hard, making him grunt but he recovers fast, pinning her down with a knee wedged between her legs. I curl my fingers around the handle of my knife.
Beau taps the feed—Caleb and Dane drop the guards near the boat, clean and quiet.
That’s my cue.
The compartment bursts open and I’m on my feet, boots hitting the floor hard enough to make the walls vibrate. Beau moves for the helm, shoving us off the dock while Caleb and Dane clear the last of the security.
Felix freezes when he sees me. “Who the fuck are you?”
My hellcat doesn’t waste the moment; she drives her feet straight into his crotch. He folds with a strangled groan, collapsing to his knees.
I crouch beside him, my voice a low growl against his ear. “You slapped my girl, so I’m going to cut off your fingers andmake you eat them.”
Behind me, Tamsin makes a gagging sound. I glance over, one brow lifting.
“Really? You gag at this, but sewing a testicle into an eye socket is fine?” I throw my hands up. “Seriously?”
She laughs, shakes her head, and walks straight into me. Her hands pull my mask up and her mouth crashes into mine. Her moan hums against my tongue, and my hand fists in the curve of her ass, hauling her legs around my waist. I don’t care that Felix is still breathing in the same room. Let him see who she belongs to.
“You fuckers know who I am?” Felix spits. He’s still hunched over, still clutching himself as if that’ll save him.
Tamsin twists in my lap, still straddling me, and meets his eyes with a smile sweet as sugar.
“And do you know who we are?” she purrs. “We’re the ones who made all your pervert friends disappear.”
She’s glowing. Gorgeous, lethal, and it makes me want to lock her in my arms forever, even if it’s while I carve him up right here.
We hit shore fast. The van’s waiting, engine rumbling. I grab Felix by the collar and drag him up the dock, nothing but garbage in my hands. Beau’s ready, syringe in hand. One quick jab in the neck and the bastard’s dead weight, his head lolling as the fight drains out of him.
We haul him to the van. Caleb and Dane emerge from the shadows, masked. Tamsin strips without hesitation, wig, contacts, heels, and that dress that made me want to murder half the poker table. She tosses it all into a pile on the boat. I peel off my hoodie and pull it over her head, shielding her from the night air and from any eyes stupid enough to linger.
Caleb’s grin widens as he flicks his lighter. Flames bloom along the boat, roaring higher as the heat licks the air.
“Fucker gets off on burning things down,” I mutter.
