Page 20 of After the Chase

The man with the gun blinks. "What?"

"I said no."

He raises the gun, pointing it at my face. "I will shoot you."

"You'll try."

I open the door fast, slamming it into his arm. The gun goes off and the bullet hits the roof of the car, missing me by inches. I'm out of the vehicle before he can recover, my hand closing around his wrist as I twist it. The bone breaks with a wet snap just as he screams, dropping the gun.

The second man swings the tire iron at my head. I duck, step inside his reach, and drive my elbow into his throat before he staggers back, choking.

Because I had to leave my baseball bat in the US, I decided to buy a new one for this road trip, as I felt lost without one. I’m glad I did. I go to the trunk and pull out the brand new shiny bat, excited that I get to break it in.

The man with the broken wrist is on his knees, cradling his arm. Without a second thought, I swing the bat once, connecting with his skull, the lovely melody of crunching bone and blood stokes that fire in my chest.

The second man is still choking and now trying to run. I catch him easily as the first swing hits his knee, making him collapse into a ball on the ground. The second swing hits his ribs and he shouts out in pain, sounding like some night animal hurt in the wild.

"Please, don’t," he gasps. So fucking pathetic. What kind of person threatens your life then whines because he is scared you have the upper hand? Annoyed at hearing his voice, the third swing silences him as the bat smashes into his face.

I stand over both bodies, breathing steady, my heart rate barely elevated. The entire encounter took less than two minutes. Not bad.

I turn to look at the car and see that Chase is standing outside it, his hand on the open door, his blue eyes wide. He watched the whole thing and I can’t tell if it was as fun for him as it was for me.

I can’t focus on him too much as I need to get rid of the bodies, but fortunately this road appears very quiet. I drag both bodies into the trees, far enough from the road that they won't be immediately visible. Then I wipe down the bat with some tissues from the car, return it to the trunk, and get back in the driver's seat.

Chase gets back into the car and hasn’t said a word, he is staring straight ahead, his hands clenched in his lap. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say.

"Are you hurt?" I ask, thinking of nothing else to ask.

"No."

I start the car and continue driving. After ten minutes, Chase finally speaks.

"You killed them. Just like that."

"Yes, I did."

"I’ve never seen someone get killed before, that violently."

"Did you enjoy it?"

“What kind of question is that? Who the hell enjoys murder?”

“You need to be more open minded.”

“I think I’m gonna throw up,” he says, and I turn briefly to look at him clutching his stomach.

“Really? Do you think the milk was bad this morning? I thought it tasted off.”

“Fucking hell, Noah! No it isn’t the fucking milk. Maybe it’s watching two random guys be smashed to death with a baseball bat, and us driving away like nothing has happened.”

Chase has never been this hysterical before and it’s not a situation I’ve been in with him before. I can’t decide between choking him until he calms down or reassuring him, but that is not possible as I have no fucking idea how you comfort someone.

“Relax, baby. Let’s find a hotel so you can calm down.”

“I swear to god, Noah, I’m gonna kill you myself if you don’t stop talking.”

That’s more like it. I reach over and grab his cock through his pants.