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“Deal.” Leaning into me, she whispered, “Trust me.”
I did. It was Cash I didn’t trust, and for good reason.
We all checked one another for weapons, making sure no one had more than the one allotted knife before I took my place at the wall. It felt wrong to watch, knowing Cash was going to hit Mari. Wrong to stand aside and let her take the hits I knew she needed to feel.
This was her atonement, and even if I didn’t think she needed it, it was obvious she felt she did.
They circled each other, both testing the waters, trying to find the other’s weaknesses.
Finally, Cash grinned. “Fuck it.”
His first punch grazed her temple, throwing her off-balance just as much as his body weight did, but she kept her feet. Shoving at him, she went hard, trying to get at any soft spots she could find.
Eyes, neck, diaphragm, balls. Whatever she could reach, she went for.
Mari unleashed on my brother, but his eyes were glittering. He enjoyed having her in front of him. Enjoyed seeing how much he’d pissed her off. That rage fueled him as much as the madness did. It made him cocky.
Too cocky.
A solid kick to his wrist knocked the knife out of his hand, sending it careening into the shadows. Cash lunged for the pile, and Mari followed. She blocked him from the other weapons, slowly backing him into a corner that was too small for his big frame. It limited his movements to defense only, while Mari had the freedom to attack as she saw fit.
And she did.
She snapped his head back with a punch to the neck, following it with one to the throat. While he was bent over gasping, she sent her knee to his ribs until they cracked too.
Over and over, she beat him until he was down on one knee with an eye swelling shut and no way out.
Mari had Cash trapped, and he knew it.
Which was why he raised a gun he must have hidden somewhere and shot at me.
Instinct had me on the floor before the sound ricocheted around us, and the bullet dug into the wall close to where I’d stood.
Thank fuck it’s not the wall with explosives.
I tried to call out to Mari that I was okay, but she was already whipping around, my name on her lips.
I got a firsthand look as Cash jumped on her, watching in horror as he took her down.
They rolled, Mari trying to get the upper hand before a loud crack stopped her. Her voice was tight with pain when he wrenched her knife away from her now-limp arm. It too went into the shadows, and then it was just the two of them. But while Mari had done some damage, Cash still had the use of both his hands. She didn’t.
She fought to get some space between them, fought to have some breathing room, but it wasn’t working.
Go to her. Help her. Kill him. But she didn’t want my help. My desire to keep her safe warred with her desire to free herself from Cash’s demons, and I wasn’t sure what the best decision was.
He had to die, but it had to be the right way.
Somehow, Mari got the space she wanted and rolled out from under him, getting to her feet on wobbly knees. She was breathing heavily, obviously hurting and down a fully functioning arm. She needed a fucking weapon.
“Don’t,” she croaked, seeing me reach for the pile. “Let me finish this.”
He stalked her steps, punching every which way. He cracked her in the head again, and she was disoriented and stumbling on her feet. I could see her blinking hard, trying to remember what was around so she could decide where to go.
That’s it.
I only had the one knife on me, and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.
Throwing was out since they were moving too fast and I didn’t want to hit Mari, so I crept up behind them, blade at the ready, and waited. My body swayed as I lightly followed Cash’s movements until I found my moment.
