Page 85 of Bleed with Me

The knife hit its target flawlessly. The scream resonated around me like a detonation. My eyes zeroed in on Julien as he collapsed to the ground, shaking violently. His hands stretched toward the white embroidered handle of the custom-made blade in his knee, but he didn’t dare to touch it.

“Nice one.” Malin appeared to my right, moving in perfect silence. “Wanna prove it wasn’t just luck?”

The challenge taunted my enormous ego. The second knife begged to be used to demonstrate my skill.

“Pick a place,” I said, moving aside for a better view of Julien’s body. He cried, touching the thin rivulet of blood streaming down his calf.

“Right knee,” Malin replied without hesitation, holding Bluff by his collar because he barely contained himself.

“Shouldn’t you be running?” I yelled at Julien. I enjoyed hitting a moving target more. It was too easy when he sat on the ground like a pile of trash.

“P-please…” he sobbed, standing up. He dragged his injured leg behind him, holding onto the trees for support. “Fuck, PLEAAAAASE!”

Malin’s lips lifted in a diabolical smirk. I moved behind Julien, hiding in the shadows so he didn’t expect anything. His cursing and muffled cries echoed in the air, but his legs gave out two steps later.

I approached him, crouched down, and lifted his head by his sweaty hair.

“What do you think?” I whispered, choosing the words carefully for the strongest impact. “Do you think your daughter felt the same when your friends were raping her?”

“W-what?” he stammered, his irises blown with raw panic.

“You know what,” I snarled, pressing my blade against his dirty cheek. Blood, mud, and tears streaked his face, matching the horror in his eyes. “How do you think she felt?”

I pushed my knife into his flesh, drawing a scream from him.

“Stop!” he begged, clawing at my forearm. “Please!”

“I’m just getting started.” I flashed him a devilish smile and sank the blade deeper. Blood burst from the fresh wound, oozing down his jaw and dripping on his naked chest.

“You son of a bitch!” he yelled, yanking his head away. But he only made another slash appear. The knife grazed his chin and cut his lower lip.

“Idiot.” I stood up and spat on him.

He tried to crawl away, but didn’t get far because the low growl vibrating through the forest froze him in place.

Bluff.

Slowly, Julien turned his head. The massive beast stood a few feet away, muscles coiled, eyes locked on him with a focus that sent chills up my spine.

A quiet whimper escaped Julien's bloodied lips.

“Please…” he rasped, voice breaking. “I’ll do anything.”

“Anything?” Malin echoed from behind me in a gravelly whisper, his voice cutting through the night like a poisonous arrow delivering the final blow. “What about,” he tapped his chin with his index finger, pretending to think, “admitting what you did?”

“I… I didn’t—” Julien stuttered, trying to find the words, but Malin interrupted him.

“Confession or death,” he stated simply, pulling out his black gun. “Your choice.”

“Okay,” Julien whispered, yet Malin pushed the safety and stepped closer. “Okay!” he yelled, lifting his hand to shield himself.

“Speak,” I ordered, kicking his injured ankle.

“I… I f-forced… the k-kids to…” He gulped, staring into the barrel of Malin’s charcoal-black gun. “To p-please my friends.”

Malin’s fingers tightened around the handle, but before he could do anything, I struck my knife into Julian’s other knee.

“Fucking bastard,” I hissed, twisting the blade. An earth-shattering scream tore from him, but I didn’t care about anything he felt. I just wanted to make him suffer as much as possible.