When I’m directly in front of her, I speak with a calm, slightly higher voice than I normally use to comfort her. “You’re okay now. We’ve got you.”
My words land, and the tears erupt. She drops her hands from her neck and rushes into my embrace.
I gasp.
The air shifts, becoming cooler, and there’s a high-pitched ringing in my ears before it stops.
And I become calm.
Very calm.
The bruises on her neck are severe—a grotesque shade of navy blue.
I turn her face toward mine. “Stay here.”
I step toward the men, motioning my brother away, and dismissing the Hellcats holding the guy’s arms.
It’s just him and me. I stand before him. Silent. Only the sounds of his heaving breaths fill the space.
“Look, man. I’m sorry I got—”
“Which hand?” I ask.
The man stops, looking at me with questioning eyes. “Huh?”
“Which hand?” I ask again. My voice is low and haunting.
“W-what do you—”
“Trixie, which hand was he using when he choked you. Can you remember?”
Trixie closes her eyes. I hate making her relive this, but I need to know. She thinks for a moment, then says, “His left.”
Red.
My hand shoots forward, catching his left in my grasp. My fingers close, shaking as I squeeze. The vibrations shoot up my arm, a surge of electricity flowing through me.
He looks at me with bulging eyes, and his face is twisted in a macabre expression. I think he’s screaming, but I can’t hear it.
All I hear iscrunch. Bones snap—sharp and wet. Fingers bend in ways they shouldn’t. The blood is warm. Slippery. Soothing.
Tobias yanks my shoulder and pulls me back. I can see color again. The man writhes on the floor, clutching the mangled flesh and bone that used to be his hand, while agonized shrieks leave his mouth.
The Hellcats and Trixie look on with horrified expressions.
Tobias screams, “Get him out of here. Trixie, see Elias to get checked out.”
They all rush out, the Hellcats carrying the man who looks like he’s going into shock.
Tobias holds my face in his hands. “Look at me.”
I do—my eyes latching onto his blue irises. They’relight. Icy.
“Are you here?” he asks.
That’s when I look down at my hand covered in blood. I bring it to my face, a queasy feeling consuming my stomach. “Fuck,” is all I can say.
Tobias rests his forehead against mine. “Torren. Whoever that guy is you’re crazy about, it’s best to leave him alone.”
