Page 248 of If You Give an Artist a Killer Muse

I lean against the wall, massaging my temple because of the lack of sleep. I can’t think of sleeping right now, anyway. I just want Rurik to have a new heart and feel better. I want him back. I want my angel back.

“Sir, you can’t go in there.”

I look up and can feel my anger come back in full force when I see Philip fucking Greene walk down the hallway toward Rurik’s room, ignoring Mr. Rogers’s security.

I'm already on him before he can even step through the door.

I am punching, kicking, biting everything I can reach. Yeah, I probably look like some unhinged hag attacking a concerned father.

But fuck him. How fucking dare he show up here unannounced? How fucking dare he show up here as if he didn’t have a hand in placing Rurik here in the first place?

How. Fucking. Dare. He?

I’m going to kill him.

Where the fuck is my gun? No, fuck that, where’s my dagger?

I want to stab the fuck out of this man multiple times, starting with his own heart and stupid face. I want him to bleed painfully slowly until he bathes in his flow of blood. I want to hear his screams singing in my ears. I want to feel his soul holding on while I break him apart, piece by piece.

I feel strong arms wrapping around me and lifting me off of Philip.

“Let go!” I scream, turning around to see it’s Mr. Rogers himself. “Let go of me, Drake!”

“I know, I know. Jesus, if I had known this is what it takes for you to call me by my first name finally…” He jokes, trying to calm me down. Which is doing the exact fucking opposite. “Fuck, Briar, I need you to calm down.”

Now, when someone tells me to calm down, I just want to do the opposite.

I ignore him as I continue kicking anything I can reach of Philip. He’s already lying on the floor like some asshole, and I find little pride in seeing how fucked his face looks already. But that’s not enough for me. There’s not enough blood.

More.

I need more.

I need fucking more.

“Give me a sedative,” I hear him say to someone.

“No!” I scream, thrashing against his hold. “No! Okay, okay, I’ll calm down.”

Chill out, girl. Do it for Rurik. He would want to see you when he wakes up.

Calm the fuck down.

I force my body to relax against Mr. Rogers’s hold until he finally lets me go.

“You okay?” He asks, forcing me to look at him. He glances over my shoulder and nods at his security, probably to gather the asshole from the floor.

“Never better,” I force a grin.

I look over my shoulder, anger rushing through me again when I see Philip is conscious and can stand. Damn, I need to do a better job next time.

“Briar,” Mr. Rogers warns.

I turn back to look at him, my brows raising. “What? I’m good. I promise.”

But he just stares at me.

I glare back before rolling my eyes. “Can I at least speak to the man? I promise I won’t attack him again.”

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