Page 201 of Bleed with Me

Every step sent pain through my ribs, but I forced my legs to move faster, wiping blood from my eye with the back of my hand.

“Aryna!” he shouted, my ears barely registering it over the rush of blood in my ears. “If you come out now, I won’t hurt you!”

I rounded a corner and found him standing in an open loading area, spinning slowly as he searched the shadows.

He had no weapon. No guards. Nothing between him and me. Finally, an equal fight. I squeezed my gun with a tiny smile on my lips. Almost equal.

I raised the weapon, and he turned to me at the light click. His face went white.

“Nina,” he exhaled in shock; the fear in his voice was strangely cathartic.

“Where is she?” I asked, pointing the weapon at his chest. He lifted his hands slowly.

“We can talk about this.”

“Where is Aryna?” I repeated, my patience slipping.

“I didn’t—” The soft scraping sound interrupted him. We both looked that way, and I caught the faintest movement under a loading platform.

A flash of golden hair. Aryna was hidden perfectly between several wooden crates. She pressed both hands over her mouth, her wide eyes fixed on me.

Relief nearly weakened my knees, but he noticed her, too.

“You little…” He moved toward the platform.

“No!” I yelled, pulling the trigger. The bullet struck his thigh, dropping him before he could take another step. Screaming, he collapsed onto the concrete.

“Stay there, Aryna!” I ordered. “Don’t look!”

“You crazy fucking bitch!” Sonny clutched his leg, staring at me in disbelief. “You shot me!”

I shrugged casually, pointing at his head. His eyes widened, and he tried crawling away.

The gun in my hand suddenly felt too easy. Sonny bruised me, terrorized me. He touched Aryna. A bullet would end him before he understood what it felt like to be helpless.

My gaze landed on another shovel propped beside the loading platform. Perhaps the universe occasionally had a sense of humor.

I picked it up. Sonny stopped crawling when he heard the metal scrape against the floor.

“Nina.” His voice changed. There was no arrogance. No threats, just raw fear. He dragged himself backward, leaving a streak of blood behind him. “Think about what you’re doing.”

“I am.” I smiled sweetly, stalking him.

His back struck a stack of containers. There was nowhere left to go.

“If you kill me, my family will come for revenge.” He raised one trembling hand. “They will kill you.”

“They can try.”

“I can give you information,” he tried again. “Names. Accounts. Everything my father knows about The Circle.” It didn't stop me. “I can make everything disappear.” The shovel dragged behind me with a low metallic scrape. “I can forgive the debt.”

I stopped before him. He stared up at me, sweating and pale, nothing like the man who ordered my life and beat me. My grip on the handle tensed.

“Please,” he whispered, stunning me. Sonny Carlile was begging. What a plot twist!

I glanced toward the place where Aryna remained hidden. Her tiny wrists were still bound, eyes squeezed shut.

They touched my girl. They fucking touched her!