“Make him beg,”says Bad Wolf.
“Then spill his guts for touching her,”Good Wolf says.
I hold out a hand, forcing a hard swallow so my words will be calm and not fraught with panic.
“Listen, whatever she did to you, there’s nothing money can’t fix. So just name your price?—“
“Yeah?” He turns his face to show me the scar down his cheek. “Can money fix this?”
I take a careful step forward, squinting like I can’t make out anything in the dark. “It’s hard to see?—“
“This, motherfucker!” The man drags Haven aside, using the wrist holding the knife to swipe over his scar.
“Oh, that.” I take another step closer, examining the mark. “Well, I’m not a plastic surgeon, but?—“
“This psycho bitch hit me with her fucking car!”
Kai comes out of nowhere.
I’m not even sure how the fuck he sneaked up on meandthe mugger, but he materializes from the dark behind the man like a specter.
There’s a flurry of movement.
Kai putting the mugger in a chokehold.
Me grabbing Haven away from the man’s flailing arm a second before I twist the knife out of his grip.
Haven collapsing against the side of the Land Rover and sliding to the ground like her bones have given out.
Maybe they have.
I don’t check—not because I don’t care, but because I’m not in control anymore.
Bad Wolf has taken the reins.
And I’ve been letting him starve lately, so he’sravenous.
I twirl the knife until it’s pointing at the mugger, and ram it hilt-deep into his shoulder, right beneath the collarbone. It’s not a fatal wound by any means, but from his shriek, it hurts like hell.
With that pain surfaces the animal instinct to survive at all costs, honed through millions of years of evolution.
He tears free of Kai, but I’m still gripping his wrist. His free hand claws at my face, but I’ve been doing this longer than he’s been alive.
I twist. Feel the bones in his wrist grind together, then snap.
He screams again, thenagainwhen I tear the knife out of him.
I look at Haven.
She’s struggling to her feet, staring at me and Kai as we try to keep the mugger from breaking free and running.
If it were just me out here, he’d be dead already. But I catch sight of Haven—the horror on her face as she presses back against the car.
She’s caught a glimpse of the real monster.
I loosen my grip.
The mugger tears his wrist free and yanks himself away from Kai. We both let him run, both of us focused on Haven.
