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“Damn you, Callahan!” he spat.
He tried to wriggle out from under me but I ignored his attempt and pressed the blade deeper into his skin, drawing another line of crimson. His breath hitched as he looked at me, fear flickering momentarily in his eyes before it was replaced with that same damn smugness.
“Tell me where she is,” I demanded again, my voice growling in the silent hallways. “Tell me!”
He reached out, trying to grab the blade. He managed a weak laugh, his eyes never leaving mine. “You think it’s that easy?” His fingers closed around the hilt of my blade, his blood washing over us both. “This is only the beginning, Callahan.”
Every muscle in my body tensed as a cold wave of dread washed over me. Adriana was in more danger than I had realized, and I was wasting precious time wrestling with this bastard.
“I swear,” I growled, closing my fingers tighter around the hilt of my blade, ignoring the sting as Nick’s blood seeped into my grip. “If you’ve harmed her...”
Nick laughed, and in that time, he managed to leverage his weight so that he could roll us over, pinning me beneath him with a triumphant grin. I grunted as my back hit the cold marble, the blade slipping from my grasp and clattering uselessly to the floor.
“Too slow, Callahan,” he mocked, his lips curled in a twisted sneer. He shifted his weight onto one knee, pressing into my chest.
Struggling beneath him, I grasped for anything to fight back with – my fists, my teeth – but Nick was quick and he pressed a mocking finger against my bruised lips, cutting off any attempt to bite. “I think it’s time for you to learn your place,” he snarled.
A surge of adrenaline rushed through me. With every second that ticked by, Adriana could be getting farther away. I couldn’t afford to waste time here.
With a sudden burst of energy, I brought my knee up into his stomach, harsh enough to knock the wind out of him and give me a moment to scramble away.
I lurched to my feet, ignoring the way the world tilted. My ribs ached with each breath, but I pushed through the pain. Adriana was all that mattered.
Nick, winded and surprised, started to rise but I didn’t give him the chance. I sent a swift kick to his side, hearing a satisfying grunt as he crumpled back to the ground.
“Adriana,” I growled, my voice echoing off the marble. I would beat this man to death if he didn’t tell me where she was. It had stopped mattering that people had seen us, that they were now surrounding us.
Nick just spat blood onto the floor and gave me a defiant smirk. “You’ll have to do better than that, Callahan.”
I could do better than that. I searched for my blade, finally finding it on the blood spattered floor under me.
But as soon as I leaned down, I heard Nick Rossi start to book it.
Before I could pursue him, a firm grip latched onto my shoulder. Kieran. I whirled around, my eyes blazing with fury. “What the fuck, Kieran?”
“Tristan,” he said, voice calm but insistent, “we need to talk.”
“Talk?” The word came out as a snarl. “Now? I almost had him!”
“It’s in your best interest not to kill Nick Rossi,” he said, a note of urgency creeping into his voice.
“Since when do you decide what’s in my best interest?” I couldn’t contain the rage boiling inside me. With a quick pivot, my fist flew, connecting with Kieran’s jaw. The blow rocked his head back, but he barely staggered.
“Damn it, Tristan!” Kieran countered, blocking my next punch with ease.
“Tell me where she is!” I demanded again, every hit, every block fueled by my need to protect Adriana. As if he would’ve known. I had no idea why he had protected Nick Rossi, but I wanted to kill Kieran right then and there.
“Tristan, listen—“ Kieran attempted to reason, dodging another swing.
“Fuck listening!” I yelled, the stress, the worry, the protection I had failed to give Adriana—all of it vanished behind the red haze of my anger. My brother was holding back information, and I wouldn’t stand for it. Not when it concerned her.
We were locked in combat now, two brothers who shared blood, but at this moment, enemies. Every strike was a question, every parry an unspoken betrayal. But even as we fought, I felt the exhaustion setting in, the adrenaline no longer enough to keep the weariness at bay.
My knuckles were white, clenched around Kieran’s collar. He matched my grip, our faces inches apart, both of us panting from exertion and anger. I could feel the blood from his split lip on my fist, mixing with my own from where he had landed a solid hit.
“Tristan! Kieran! Enough!” Carmen’s voice was like a whip crack in the cold air, sharp and commanding. Liam’s cries echoed hers, a frantic plea for sanity amidst the madness.
“Stop this now!” I barely registered Liam’s hands on me, pulling me back with surprising strength. The fire in my veins urged me to shake him off, to finish what I’d started, but then reality struck—Liam, my little brother, the one I was supposed to protect, not harm.
