Page 125 of Love Him Like Water

Like he planned to do to Lore.

Reaching back, I grabbed her pants that had fallen off his shoulder, wrapping them around his throat, and squeezing, watching his eyes widen with panic, bulge as he lost his breath, as his lungs burned, as he realized he was dying.

It was a brutal fucking way to go.

A good two and a half to three minutes of consciousness, your lungs screaming, your head going fuzzy, panic flooding your entire body.

Then another minute of unconsciousness before you finally fucking died.

I must have been sitting there for longer, though, as I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“He’s dead, man,” Dav said, voice patient, understanding. He had his own demons. He knew what it was like when they took over.

I yanked the pants off of him as I moved to stand, realizing I was panting for breath, my heartbeat hammering with the adrenaline still flooding my system.

“Go on. Beat the shit out of me,” Michael said, glaring at me from his kneeled position, standing between Cage and Cinna. “Kill me, even. But there’s more just like me.”

“Yeah?” I asked, reaching into my waistband for my gun. “I’ll track down and put a bullet in all their heads too,” I said, pressing the muzzle to his forehead. “Say hi to my old man in hell,” I said, squeezing the trigger, and watching the blood and brain matter scatter as he weaved for a moment before falling, dead before he hit the ground.

Only then did I seem to be able to think clearly again.

Lore.

I whipped around, finding the space she’d been occupying empty.

“She ran into the office,” Cinna explained, nodding her chin toward it.

Smart girl.

Taking herself somewhere safe.

Knowing I’d come for her after.

“Might wanna get that crazy look off your face first,” Cinna suggested, giving me a pointed look.

Right.

Right.

She didn’t need my tension.

She needed soft.

Who knew what the fuck she’d been through?

I stood there for a second, taking a few slow, deep breaths, trying to find calm. Then I checked myself for blood before taking her pants with me toward the office, knocking on the door.

Hearing nothing, my heart seized.

“Lore?” I called.

No response.

I rushed inside.

And it was then I heard it.

A frantic sort of humming coming from under the desk.

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