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I’m going to rip this wanna-be gangster’s balls off first, I think to myself icily.
“I’m not done with her yet,” Steve says, his face getting angry. “She got me fired and insulted!”
When Steve lifts his hand to strike Megan again, I’ve had enough. I raise my gun and aim it at the center of his palm. I pull the trigger, and the howl of Steve’s agony is beautiful as he bends over, clutching his wrist. The other man fumbles, reaching for his gun, but I shoot his left kneecap, forcing him to fall, and his gun slides across the floor out of his reach.
I walk into the circle of light, making a clicking sound with my tongue. “I warned you, Steve. I warned you to leave and never look back.”
The asshole is screaming in pain and doesn’t respond as I cover the distance to Megan and lift her face gently. Megan stirs, but she doesn’t move. She has one large bruise over her right cheekbone, in exactly the same place she had been injured earlier today. Her lip is cut, but she doesn’t seem to have any other injuries on her face. I’m tempted to lightly kiss some of the pain away for her, but I restrain myself.
“Are you hurt badly?”
She stares at me but offers no response, her eyes unfocused. I’m not done with either man, but I don’t want to leave her side. The look in her eyes bothers me. Why are they so empty? How can she be so strong one moment and so broken the next?
I move to stand behind her, gently urging her head to rest against my thigh. I cover her eyes with my left hand, whispering in her ear, “This will all be over soon.”
I shoot Steve again in the crotch. His screams are blood-curdling, and when Megan hears them, she flinches, but I don’t falter. The sight of his blood spraying across the chair and all over Megan’s new outfit is irrelevant. This bastard put his hands on her.
He must atone for that.
I have a lot of experience in inflicting pain, and I know exactly where to shoot someone to cause maximum damage without killing them. This time, I move from his crotch to his collarbone. He curls into himself, pleas for mercy falling from his lips.
“What exactly did you think would be the outcome of this, Steve?” I drawl, watching him try to crawl away. “Did you think you could just put your hands on what’s mine, and there’d be no repercussions?”
Mine?
I mean my employee.
It takes me a second to correct myself in my head.
I’m angry because Steve tried to harm an employee of mine and not for any other reason. My viciousness isn’t because the staff person in question was Megan. I would carry out the same justice if he had so ruthlessly abducted any other employee to try to get to me.
Okay, I probably shouldn’t have done the crotch shot. Steve is bleeding out rather fast on the floor, but what’s done is done. I watch him bleed out dispassionately, which actually takes a lot of self-composure because what I’d rather be doing is using my fists to crush his skull.
The texts are flying in on my phone. At this point, everyone on my team has heard the gunshots and is probably wondering if I’m alive, but I give them direct orders to stay where they are. I’m handling this. This shit is personal.
Lars: Can we come in, sir?
Parker: Are you okay, boss?
Me: Stand down for now. I’m good.
The deviant in the corner who started all of this tries to slide across the floor and out of sight when he sees me focused on my ex-manager, so I turn and say in a casual tone, “You didn’t think I would forget about you, did you?”
I recall his comment about the different ways he planned to get Megan to talk, and I aim the gun at his balls, too. His scream is ear-shattering, and Megan recoils into me.
“It’s okay,” I croon to her. “Keep your eyes closed.”
She’s frozen in place, and now I hear footsteps. There can only be one person who wouldn’t take a direct order from me to stand down: my friend, Vaughn.
“Well, damn, Hunter,” Vaughn says in a concerned tone. “You could’ve at least moved the girl out of the room. She’s just a kid. You’ve probably fucking traumatized her with all of your cowboy shit tonight.”
He’s right.
I was abhorrently selfish about this.
Megan is an art student, not some seasoned woman who knows this life. Getting her to safety should have been my first priority, not exacting vengeance.
“Take care of this,” I order Vaughn, suddenly realizing that I need to get Megan out of here.
