Page 126 of Silk and Sirens

Someone cursed as my heel connected with their shin, and whoever had my hair released me just long enough for me to scramble forward again. Until someone else grabbed my ankle, dragging me back and flipping me over.

I lashed out, catching him across the face with my nails, drawing deep red lines down his cheek. He howled and backhanded me hard enough to split my lip.

“Hold the fucking bitch down!” Renley barked, wiping blood from his nose.

One of them pinned my arms above my head while the other two grabbed my kicking legs, spreading them wide.

“I’m going to make this hurt,” Renley sneered, reaching for his belt. “Let’s see how long it lasts until I have you sobbing.”

Chapter 52

Caden

I kicked the door down, Sebastian at my back as we swept inside.

Aeris was forced flat on her back, struggling against not one but four men. Blood trickled down her jaw, her eyes widening when they met mine before flashing with desperate relief.

Something burned deep in my chest, my anger so fervent my sight blurred.

The soon-to-be-dead cunt between her legs tensed, looking over his shoulder for barely a second before I was on him, yanking him back with my hand to the back of his neck. I threw him against the wall, his trousers around his lower legs revealing his pathetic excuse for a cock.

I saw red.

Aeris used the movement to pull the man holding her arms off balance, just as Sebastian reached one of the men at her legs.

I didn’t think, only reacted. My punch reverberated through Renley’s skull, his teeth exploding from his mouth from the force. They bit into my knuckles, but I couldn’t feel it as I hit him again, and again.

A flash of light, and I managed to turn before a knife stabbed me in the back. I dropped Renley at my feet, ducking before catching the second man’s outstretched arm. Using my weight, I added pressure to his elbow, not stopping until I felt it bend at the wrong angle and then break entirely.

The man screamed, only shutting off when I tugged the knife from his limp grip and shoved it inside his mouth. He gurgled and gagged around the handle, coughing up blood as the blade sliced through his oesophagus. Knowing he was no longer a threat, I dropped him like a deadweight.

That left only one, Sebastian still playing with his guy whose screaming had become more of a high-pitched screech. The last man scrambled back, grabbing Aeris by the hair and holding her against him.

“Back off,” he snarled, pulling out a knife and holding it to her neck.

Aeris swallowed, calm as he backed them both towards the kitchen. Someone had sliced across her breast, blood dripping down her stomach to pool at her underwear which had been torn. Ripped off one hip to leave only a scrap of fabric to protect her.

My blood burned hotter.

I prowled after them slowly, not wanting to spook the prick when his blade was so close to her throat.

“I said, back off!” he snarled, taking a swipe at me. I didn’t move, not caring that it had bitten into my chest, splitting my shirt and skin.

I just need the prick close enough to …

Aeris threw her head back, catching him off guard. While he howled in pain she grabbed for his arm, and he swung it around towards her instead. I tensed, the blade catching her before I had it, snapping his wrist and letting the knife clatter to the kitchen tile.

Because I was going to make this last.

I was going to make this fucking hurt, because what I’d done to Renley had been too quick.

Gripping him by the throat, I lifted him clean off the ground, ignoring his pathetic, weakening swipes at my arm as I slowly stole his oxygen. His face turned a satisfying shade of purple, eyes bulging with raw terror.

But I didn’t let him pass out.

Right before his eyes rolled back, I slammed him down onto the kitchen island with brutal force. His skull cracked audibly against the marble with a wet, sickening thud that echoed through the room.

His jeans were already undone, the belt hanging loose. Ripping it free from the loops in one sharp tug, I wrapped the thick leather around his throat like a noose and used it as a leash. Hauling him back to his feet, I dragged him against me so he faced Aeris.