But he was already weak from too much blood lost.
Too much damage had already been done.
His nails scrabbled across the leather, trying to wedge space between the belt and his throat.
I leaned back, pulling harder.
“Shhh,” I murmured near his ear. “I promise this is an easier death than any of the others would’ve given you.”
The fight drained out of him faster than I expected, and his hands dropped from the belt, twitching weakly against his chest.
A few more seconds…
Then his body went limp.
I kept up the pressure for another minute, just to be sure.
When I finally released him and pushed his limp body to the side, his face had gone purple, and his eyes were bloodshot and bulging.
Josh was sitting on the edge of the bed, his eyes squeezed shut.
I rose from the floor and walked over slowly. “Are you okay?” As I reached him, I held his head in my hands and cradled it against my midsection.
A muffled “no” came from him.
I stroked his hair gently, continuing to hold him. “I’m sorry, Josh. You know I had to do it.”
“I know.”
“You didn’t watch, did you?”
Josh shook his head against me, then lifted his face to look at me. “I saw you go for him. Put… put the belt around his neck… But then I closed my eyes.”
“Good, that was smart, angel.”
He sniffled. “I still had to hear it happen, though.”
“I know,” I answered quietly.
A loud knock rattled the door.
“We heard shit going down in here,” Lane called, several other quieter voices surrounding him.
I leaned down to kiss Josh, then rolled my eyes at another round of inpatient knocks.
“I’m coming,” I yelled, helping Josh to his feet. To him, I said, “Keep your eyes closed until I say. We’re going to walk out of the room, okay?”
“Okay,” he said softly, grasping my hands.
“Small steps.”
We walked together across the room. I steered him around the body without comment. When we reached the door, I unlocked it and pulled it open.
Lane stood there with Greyson and Ronan just behind him, both of them already pushing forward before I’d even stepped fully aside.
“Damn it,” Lane sighed, looking at the body with a small frown as Ronan and Grey examined it closer. “I wanted that one.”
I helped Josh into the hallway. “It’s okay. You can open your eyes now.”
