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Ben’s desperate voice has us turning as one. I reach out and pull the girls behind my back, then freeze when I come eye to eye with the dark barrel of a Luger in his scarily steady hand.
“Where’s my son?”
Dark eyes stare right into mine, the eyes of a man who’s lost his fucking mind. Sweat beads on my back and trickles as I slowly make my way to my feet.
Expanding my chest and keeping his gun pointed at me, I stop when I’m standing tall. “He’s outside.” I hold my hands up in surrender. A focal point, rather than my chest, or worse, the girls. “Let’s go outside. I’ll take you to them.”
Lindsi’s strangled cry breaks out behind me as her weak hand wraps around my ankle. “No. Stay.”
“You stole them from me.” His eyes stay on mine. “You stole my wife and children.”
“I didn’t–”
“And you stole Isabelle, too. And my bastard.”
“I–”
“I know who you are. Big shot fighter.” He waves his hand around mockingly, and each dangerous wave brings his gun swaying across my chest and face. “I saw you that day. Did it hurt when you lost?” His eyes bounce around the room indecisively. Maybe he doesn’t even intend to hurt us. Maybe he’s just here to scare us, but his waving gun will probably still end my life.
I won’t leave this world until my girls are safe. Not until my family’s safe. All of them.
Keep him talking. Wait for the cops.
“Yes. It hurt when I lost.” I wait for his manic eyes to come back to mine. “Why were you there?”
“I was there to watch you lose!” He laughs terrifyingly like a giddy child. “Worked out well, huh? You lost like a fuckin’ champ.”
“But why go there? You could’ve watched me lose on TV.”
“I was there to collect what was mine!” He points a dangerous hand at my feet. At Iz.
She’s not his! She was never his.
She’s been mine since we were six years old.
“You moved her to the octagon even while you were unconscious.” He taps his temple with the barrel of his gun. “Smart grasshopper! You were one step ahead, but not this time. Now I’m here to fix what you broke.”
“What did I break?”
Aiden slowly sneaks through the kitchen at Ben’s back. Silent and dangerous as a panther, he moves and allows the vice around my heart to release. I was afraid to die. Afraid to leave the girls alone with Ben, but now Aiden’s here. He’ll keep them safe. He’s my big brother, and as such, he’d never let them hurt.
My triumphant eyes go back to Ben.We’ve already won, motherfucker. Shoot me now, doesn’t matter. You won’t leave here alive.
Though Aiden doesn’t make a single sound as he moves, I don’t count on Ben’s eyes following the girls’ gazes. Tipped off by them, he spins in an instant and swings the gun out dangerously fast.
Fine by me.
I’ll kill him now. And I’ll do it with a smile on my face.
As soon as his eyes are off me, I take his back and drop him to the ground. This isn’t a cage match. I’m not standing toe to toe and trading blows with another guy for a paycheck. This one won’t end with me wearing a broken nose and a ref stepping in between us so I don’t get blood on the floor.
I throw my two-hundred and ten pounds at his back and thrill at the crunch of his face slamming against the tiles. Blood spurts across the glossy white floor as he scrambles and twists beneath me.
Technique goes out the window. Breathing, who cares. Guard up, doesn’t matter.
I throw haymakers at his head and hope they do more damage than we’re allowed in the cage. This isn’t my brother. This is a killer. Cold hearted and ready to kill his wife. He deserves no mercy. He’ll receive no mercy.
I throw flurries at his skull, and though I’m trained, though I use all my weight to hold him down, he still manages to get his arms up to cover his face. One hand still holds his gun, and each time my fist comes down, a new knuckle cracks and shatters in my hand.
