Several yards in, they heard the unmistakable sound of someone firing a gun. Derek and Jake stopped in their tracks.
Tilting his head and closing his eyes, Derek honed in on the echoing retort. His eyes shot open. “This way!”
Exchanging silence for speed, he and the others ran toward the direction the shot came from. Fear left ice running through his veins, but he refused to let it slow him down.
Hang on, darlin’. I’m coming.
Minutes later, Derek caught a flash of white through the trees. He held his free hand up to stop Jake.
With a finger to his lips, he motioned for his boss to be quiet, and then pointed up ahead.
His heartbeat echoed loudly in his ears as both men carefully trekked over the rough ground. Thanks to their training, they knew how and where to step to ensure a silent approach.
The closer he got, the more terrified Derek became. When he finally caught sight of her, Derek knew the horrific scene was one that would stay with him forever.
Charlie was lying on the ground with Caleb straddling her waist...and the bastard was fuckingchokingher.
Derek saw red. “Charlie!”
He screamed for her as the thread finally snapped. A loud roar filled his ears as he ran to her, and it took Derek a few seconds to realize the sound was coming from him.
“No!”
Raising his gun, he took aim and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Caleb in the side of the neck. With a loud grunt, the man’s body flew backward, landing on the ground next to Charlie.
Derek ran to him, his entire body shaking as he fought the temptation to shoot the fucker between eyes. Caleb’s wide, shocked eyes looked up at him as he begged Derek for help.
“P-please... M-mercy.”
Consumed by a hatred unlike any he’d ever known, Derek kept his gun trained on the dying man.
“How many times?”
Pale and confused, Charlie’s ex coughed and sputtered. “W-what?”
Derek took a step closer. The gun shook in his hand as he demanded to know, “How many times did you showhermercy?”
Blood continued to pulse out from the wound, seeping between the man’s fingers. A large pool of it already covered the ground next to his head.
“P-please,” Caleb pleaded with him again. A spray of blood shot out from between his colorless lips as his shoulders and chest jerked with another coughing fit.
Shoving his weapon into the back of his waistband, Derek squatted down beside him. His voice turned low and deadly.
“I told you what would happen if you came after her again.”
Weakening, Caleb whispered, “H-help...m-me.”
Derek stood. With a mirthless smirk and one final shake of his head, he said, “Help yourself.”
Caleb’s eyes widened with shocking awareness. The man knew he was about to die. Three seconds later, he took his final breath.
Behind him, Derek heard a feeble gasping sound followed by Jake’s deep voice.
“Easy, honey. Try to take slow, deep breaths.”
The sight of Caleb trying to kill Charlie had filled Derek with a deep-seated, murderous rage. With the threat neutralized, he was finally able to break himself free and focus on what mattered most in his world.
“Charlie!”
