Page 132 of Bleed Me

The second, under his rib. I ignored his body arching in agony.

The third, in his side. I ignored his hands trying to grab whoever was killing him.

The fourth, his thigh. As I held it there, I took hold of him so he could struggle no more, and whispered in his ear, “Die knowing it was Giver who gave you your ticket back to Hell.”

With the fifth, I reached around and stabbed his chest.

The sixth, his stomach. The seventh, his groin.

My wife’s body sagged in relief as she stared at me. So many emotions floated in those remarkable eyes as she listened to the gurgles and groans of a man dying way too easily for my taste.

Still behind Seth, I held the edge of the blade to one side of his throat. His whines and soft pleas for mercy were music to my ears. I had no mercy for such a cruel bastard who would want to harm those I love.

With steel in my veins, I waited… for her…

The eighth… was hers. This was her kill. I was only the weapon she guided.

Justice took a deep breath… She stared Seth in the eyes, then nodded.

Slowly and meticulously, I drew the blade across the throat of the animal who would never fuck with my family again.

Then… I let his body drop to the floor.

With that same bloody knife, I cut the restraints off my wife. I grabbed a blanket and threw it over her, then freed her mouth before my arms scooped her up and held her impossibly close. Cradling her, I carried Justice to a window so she could feel the sun, and I whispered, “Any storm. Any storm.”

With her arms around my neck, she hid under my chin, her body trembling.

“Giver and Justice.” I assured her, “Our babies are safe.”

She was riveted to the spot, face flowing with tears.

“Let it rain. Let it pour.”

She cried for the recovery to come. With the shape I found my woman in, I knew that the fucker had been alone with her for too long. When the nightmares came, it would be me to help her through those this time.

I rested my head to hers. “Like the moon loves the night, babe.”

I could feel her struggling for air.

“You are beautiful.”

Her heart ripped wide open in my arms.

“You are courageous.”

She sobbed through a past and present she couldn’t evade.

“You’re my heart and soul, Church Eyes.”

She wailed in an agony that I knew would take time to heal.

“You are my fucking justice.”

Had I not died at that tree the night my world turned upside down, I would have never known the chance to love with all my being.

The creation of haunted roads can be devastatingly painful, but… the lingering lessons and unseen answered prayers on those haunted roads brought me to a path of absolution.

Every time I took, someone paid the price. I would only give to Justice.

~James Gunn Dalton