“You’re wrong,” I lied, even as I imagined the feel of his cartilage splitting beneath my knuckles.
“Really? You think you can fool me? We’re the same, you and me.” His steely blue gaze met mine.
“I’m nothing like you.”
“Is that why you laid the mayor out flat on his back? You tell me you don’t want to give the bad guys exactly what they deserve? That’s what I do every day on the job.” He flashed me a smug grin. “When people don’t treat us right, we let them know. We both know the wheels of justice are too damn slow for the likes of us.”
“I’m no killer,” I said.
“Well, you should be. The mayor got what he deserved, and I gave it to him.”
I felt a chill work itself down my spine.
Russo just admitted to killing Alec Stokes.
“He wasn’t canceled,” I pointed out.
“I canceled him,” Russo said. “For what he did to you.”
Now I was confused. I thought the Canceled Killer wanted to punish me. Make me pay. Not try to impress me.
“Back to our game,” Russo continued. “Kiss. Marry. Kill. Who’s it going to be?” I glanced at Jude. His brown eyes flickered with fear.
“It’s still you,” I said, glancing back at Russo. “I still want to kill you.”
“Wrong answer.” He shrugged. “Guess again. Or do you want me to guess for you? I will.” He pointed his gun at Jude and his eyes widened. “Eeny… meeny… miny…”
“No!” I drew his attention away from Jude. “Please,” I added.
“All right. You got me. We can skip ahead in this game. You kiss Spider-Man. You kill Jude. And you… marry me.”
“W-what?” I blinked fast. This, I was not expecting. The man wanted to marry me? Since when?
“You and me together forever. I’m getting out of here tonight, and you are coming with me. We’re meant to be together. Do you want me to get down on one knee? I will, if you shoot Brother’s Best Friend.”
I glanced at Jude. He hit me with puppy-dog eyes. No way could I ever kill him. He saved my life. I saved his.
“No,” I said.
“But he’s what’s wrong with the world,” Russo declared. Jude’s eyes widened and then flicked to me. “Because the world has devolved into cucks and betas. When real men walked around, we didn’t have people thinking they could get away with what they do. They’d be shot on sight or strung up. Men got weak and cat ladies got loud and society went to hell.”
Russo was making a speech like a Bond villain with his own podcast, and so I inched closer to him, cutting the ten feet between us. Because James Bond knew what the bad guys didn’t: It’s hard to track a threat and rant on your soapbox at the same time.
“People started complaining about the patriarchy and toxic masculinity when it was strong men who kept the world together, who kept us from falling into chaos in the first place. That’s the problem with the world. Daddy left and he never came back home, and now the world is run by weak little boys and girls who aren’t strong enough to make the hard decisions.”
“Daddy left?” I scoffed. Another small step. “Please. The patriarchyis a scam. It’s not about protecting society. It’s about controlling society.”
“Society needs control. Or we’re all back in the jungle.”
“Predators kill for food in the jungle,” I pointed out. “Not sport.”
“It wasn’t for sport. The mayor stepped out of line,” Russo growled. “And so did they.” He flashed his gun at both of them. “None of them have the right to touch you.” He sucked in a breath. “I’ll kill anyone who touches you. You… are… mine.” His blue eyes glowered at the men restrained at the kitchen table. He looked particularly maniacal in this light.
“I heard you got suspended from the force,” I said, drawing his gaze back to me. “Stalking your ex-girlfriend? Should I be jealous?”
Russo’s mouth thinned into a line. “We don’t need to talk about her.”
Another step. “Why not?”
