Page 22 of Slaughter

“That’s an understatement.”

“Please don’t kill me.” The sound of his begging makes me smile.

“That would be too easy for you.”

He tries to get up off the chair, but my men place a hand on his shoulders to keep him sitting. He looks at both of them with a terrified expression. “How did you …?”

“You think you outsmarted me?” I laugh. “I allowed you to take me. I couldn’t find you, but I knew you’d come right to me. And now, here we are.”

He lets out a moan of pain. “You baited me?”

I don’t answer because I refuse to waste my breath on stupid questions.

“What are you gonna do with me now?” he asks, hanging his head. Not sure if it’s in defeat or due to blood loss. The warehouse smells of copper, and a steady drip falls from the chair to the concrete floor.

“I’m gonna give you a chance to make it right. But in the meantime, I’m gonna keep something to make sure you get the job done this time.”

“Anything. You know I’m good for it.” He lies easily, forgetting that I know him well. He’s already thinking of ways to fuck me.

He’s not gonna like what I plan on taking. “Presleigh.”

His head snaps up, and he looks at me, his eyes wide and face drained of color. That right there was the look I wanted to see. It makes letting this man take me worth it.

“No … you … can’t …”

“Phone,” I demand, lifting my free hand to my men.

Mason digs his phone out of his pocket and hands it to me. I dial and then place it on speakerphone before setting it on the metal table next to me. The same one where I cut off Dennis’s fingers just last night. His blood still covers it, now dried.

“Kayn.” The male’s voice answers. He does all my dirty work for me. I pay him more than enough to follow orders, and he never asks questions.

“What’s the status?”

“About to breach,” he informs me.

I smile. “Perfect timing.” It’s a little past four a.m., so she should be home from the bar by now. And they’ve already been instructed that if a man is there, to kill him and get rid of the body.

Preston stares up at me. “Wait, Avery. She’ll hate you …”

She already does. And the feeling is mutual. “I don’t care.”

When he realizes I’m telling the truth, he continues to beg. “Avery, please…”

“Too late to beg.” I made up my mind weeks ago. And once I make a decision, I never go back on it. Plus, I want her. Fuck, how I want her.

“Stand by,” Kayn says quietly.

We stand in silence, listening to the phone. There’s the sound of a door creaking open, then nothing but silence.

After a few minutes, you hear a muffled shot, and then Kayn says, “Living room clear.” I know that wasn’t for my benefit. He’s speaking through his earpiece to the five other men I have there.

“Hope he wasn’t important to you,” I say to Preston, knowing that Kayn just killed one of his guys.

“Avery!” He growls. “You can’t do this …”

“Shut the fuck up,” I snap.

He did this to her!

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