Page 93 of Brutal Truths

She pulls back, relieving the pressure, and he proves that some men never learn when to shut the fuck up.

“I should have let Tank and Urick finish teaching you that lesson.” He squeals, again, when she presses down, loud enough to set Bear off, his howl echoing through the house.

This time, she doesn’t stop. No break. No mercy. Pain so intense it becomes unbearable, and he breaks. Vomits. Then goes limp, toppling over on his side into his own mess.

Trent’s laughter fills the room. Loud and sharp.

Then it cuts off like a switch flipped.

I turn just in time to see him clutching his chest before he drops, landing hard on the tile floor next to me.

Chapter 28

Isabel

I don’t know what pushed me to act. Maybe it’s Rurik’s callous disregard for my feelings and blatant lies that finally push me too far.

He’s not my father. Deep down I knew that from the beginning. Even knowing that didn’t stop the anger that allowed him to burrow his way into my head and play me for a fucking fool.

When I step toward him, the cruelty in his eyes only fuels the fire, turning it into something harder to control. This isn’t just about me anymore. It’s about Lawrence and Trinity. The thought of her watching someone she cares about suffer while she’s helpless to stop it, ignites a fierce protective instinct inside me.

My mind flashes back to the night at the club. The fire alarm blaring, the panic, the way everything fell apart just a little too perfectly. I don’t believe in coincidence. Not anymore. My gut burns, telling me the truth I don’t want to fully face—if Aiden hadn’t been there, Trinity and I would have been taken.

Rurik was behind it.

The rage that follows isn’t clean. It doesn’t burn… it fractures, sharp and jagged. I drop to my knees beside him and check his wound.

This is no longer about what he did, but what he planned to do.

“That looks pretty painful,” I say, my attention on the blood seeping up around the deep gash in his leg. “Didn’t see that coming, did you?”

“Fuck you.” His muscles lock, the insult breaking into a scream the second my finger finds the nerve.

Good.

“I wouldn’t move.” My voice stays even, calm in a way that doesn’t match what I’m doing. “If it didn’t nick the artery, it will if you keep moving.” I increase the pressure just enough to make him fight the urge to pull away. “One wrong move and the blade shifts. When it does, you’ll bleed out in about… ninety seconds.”

I hold his gaze and let that sink in, then ease up to give him a reprieve to catch his breath.

“I should’ve let Tank and Urick finish teaching you that lesson before I killed them.”

The scream hits immediately. His earsplitting, high-pitched shriek tears through the room as my finger slips past the blade and bumps the nerve. Bear answers from the next room, his howl breaking through the walls.

“But you didn’t.”

The steady pulse of the main artery throbs beneath my fingertips as I slide in deeper, a small, satisfied smile playing on my lips.

“Hurts like a motherfucker, doesn’t it?”

He tries to hold it together. Jaw tight. Muscles locked. But his attempt is falling flat. Within seconds, he loses the battle. His stomach heaves, a strangled gag tearing from his throat as the pain overwhelms him.

I’m not surprised when he vomits and passes out, landing in it.

Gross.

I’m about to ask someone to grab me something to stabilize the dagger, but the uncontrollable laughter coming from Mr. Doyle stops me.

Of course, he finds this entertaining. The sound grates, pulling me out of the moment just long enough to wonder if maybe I took matters too far.