Without a second of hesitation, I grab the discarded shiv off the ground and scramble back to my feet, racing to get behind Stone as he leaves a mountain of dead bodies in his wake.
My back slams against the wall, the gun in one hand and the shiv in the other, and even fully armed, there’s no denying that I still don’t stand a chance.
Stone glances back for just a second, seeing the two weapons grasped firmly in my hands, and he shakes his head as if I haven’t got a clue what to do with either of them. He’s kinda right, but that doesn’t change the fact that I just dropped a body. I’m not completely useless.
“Give me that before you hurt yourself,” he snaps, and before I can protest, he snatches the shiv right out of my capable fingers. Then, in complete horror and disbelief, I watch Stone Blackthorne effortlessly tear his way through men like a knife slicing through warm butter.
There’s no doubt about it; Stone is a beast. That much was clear the moment I saw him on TV all those years ago. But StoneBlackthorne with a weapon in his hand? Well, fuck. He’s an unstoppable machine.
Some of the prisoners take off, realizing they don’t stand a chance against Stone, but some aren’t bright enough to walk away from a fight. They’re too focused on winning me as a prize to escape with their lives.
Dead bodies pile up like offerings to a god that never answers, and I hold my gun like a lifeline, but I guess that’s exactly what it is. I have no idea how to tell how many bullets are left, and I don’t dare risk taking my eyes off the men in the room to figure it out, but no guard in a maximum security prison is getting around with only one bullet in the chamber. There’s got to be at least three or four, if it’s not completely full. Minus the one that’s currently residing in my new friend’s chest.
The space in the room feels even more cramped as the piles of motionless bodies grow. There must be at least ten to fifteen men on the ground. There’s no way to count or to even know if they’re just out cold or meeting their maker, not until Stone moves out of my way, but he’s too big. It’s almost impossible to see around him properly. But the truth is, as long as he’s willing to stand in front of me and play the role of my protector, then I don’t give a shit how many bodies he drops at my feet.
The only problem is, sooner or later, the other shoe is going to drop.
He’s going to run out of men to slaughter, then his attention will return to me, and when it does, I’ll be ready. Because there’s got to be another bullet in this chamber, and it has Stone’s name written all over it.
7
STONE
Well, I can’t say this is how I thought today was going to go down, but it’s been fun. Men come at me one after another, and it’s more than clear that this is no longer about getting their hands on the girl. This is about taking out their biggest threat.
Me.
Some of them come alone, trying to be the big man on campus, while others come in coordinated attacks. Try all they like, they won’t touch me. But I get it. Taking me out would reap a god-like status among the other prisoners. It’s a coveted position to have, but after seven long years of remaining in-fucking-vincible, they should know better than to try.
But hell, I’m doing the government a favor by weeding out the weak. Aren’t they always complaining about prisons being overpopulated? I should be rewarded for my efforts. Look howmuch space I’m making within these walls. Not to mention, all the real justice that’s being served.
The bodies at my feet continue to grow, and I’ve hardly broken a sweat. They’re making it too fucking easy. It’s almost embarrassing, but if you’re dumb enough to come at me in a cramped room while I’m holding a shiv, then you deserve a shameful death.
I hear Aria panting behind me, gripping that gun as though it’s somehow going to get her out of here, but she’s a fool if she thinks she can survive this. It’ll be hours before the guards are able to get this shitstorm under control, and any bullets left in that gun will be long gone before then.
The fear in her eyes is pissing me off.
The girl I know doesn’t fear anything, so watching her cower and hide while pretending to be some helpless damsel makes me want to strangle her even more. Although it’s becoming abundantly clear that if I am going to kill this woman for the shit she put me through and enjoy it, then it can’t happen here.
I go to reach for her just as Mercer strides into the small conference room, two of his little attack dogs flanking him on either side. I knew it was coming. He’s been sitting back and watching the show since the moment the inmates got through the door.
“Look at the bloodlust in his eyes,” he chides to one of his sidekicks as he steps over a body. “It’s like a rabid animal letting loose for the first time.”
His friends laugh, but his stare remains locked on me, knowing I’m the only real threat in the room, but he’s a bigger idiot than I thought if he thinks he stands a chance. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough fun, Blackthorne? Leave some for the rest of us.”
“You’re making a mistake, Mercer.”
“On the contrary. This is about to be the best fun I’ve ever had. Dinner,” he rumbles, his gaze then shifting to Aria behind me as he licks his lips. “Then dessert.”
I hear Aria scoff, disgusted by the men in this very room, and so she should be. The men who make up the majority of C-block are some of the most ruthless and vile men in the country, and the crimes they have committed were done with pleasure. Serial killers. Rapists. Child molesters. They’ve done it all, and they relive their crimes every day, bragging about the people they’ve hurt and the families they’ve destroyed.
They’re the fucking animals. Sure, so am I. But I live by a moral compass. I don’t hurt innocents, and I sure as fuck don’t hurt children. As for Aria, she’s no longer either of those. But in order to get to her, first I must take out the trash.
Keeping my attention on Mercer, I open my arms wide like an invitation. “You want her, Mercer? Come take her.” He hesitates for just a moment, as though having expected me to shy away from the three of them. “What’s the hold up? You’re not scared, are you?”
Mercer laughs. “I ain’t scared of you.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Look at her. So goddamn beautiful. That long auburn hair. The lips. Waist. And that ass. She’s fucking delicious. I bet she would go off, too. A fiery woman like this? Fuck. Any man would crumble inside of her.”
