Page 140 of Hell and High Water

26

GAVIN

“You're fucking dead.” I hear my voice roar, but there’s no emotion, only the fatal promise.

“Not as dead as you thought! And neither are you, as it turns out!” Alaya laughs, dodging back as I surge out of the bed, streaking toward the door.

Literally.

But that joke’s lost on me in my fury.

My first hit misses as she flits back out of the way, leaping back onto the loft and kicking a chair into my path. I’m in the air over the chair and pursuing her as she takes the stairs in one jump.

My feet slam down where she landed only a second before me, lunging to the side as three rapid fists swish through the air where my head was only a moment prior.

Bounding off the wall, I bounce back at her, slapping her hands out of the way, putting her on the defensive as she backs away.

“Dicks to diamonds, you're as fast as ever, Gavvy!” she gasps, managing to deflect several of my strikes and sidestep me, shoving me off balance and retreating again. “You really should take a breath, hun.”

“Don’t. Call. Me. THAT!” I punctuate each word with a punch.

Two land against her guarding arms, tucked into her sides, my superior strength making her grunt.

“Come on, baby, you don’t look happy to see me!”

“I’m NOT!”

“I thought the same thing, to be honest, I really did. Figuring out you were still alive made me want to put one right between your eyes, sure enough. But then, I realized it was ’cause I was so damn mad at you. And I was mad at you because I still care!” she shouts as she leads me on a chase around the living area, hopping and skidding around the furniture, keeping it between us.

“Well, I’m not mad because I care. I’m just mad. And you fucked up, coming here and attacking us.”

“Whoa! I didn’t do shit!” She stops, her expression shifting to genuine offense.

It gives me an opening, and I rain down blows on her, kicking, jabbing, driving her back. She’s only blocking, dodging.

But I’m still seeing red and it feels like she’s toying with me.

“How the fuck did you get in here?”

“I let myself in. You know how I do things. I needed to find you.”

“You found me, alright.” I wind up and swing.

Only I overstep on the round house, leaving myself open. She slips inside my reach, striking at me full force for the first time since she got here.

“Enough. You need to listen.” The thwaps to my ribs nearly double me over. She’s always been able to hit a lot harder than most people her size.

“Why now?” I roar, bearing down on her with my size to force her back. “All this time, you could have found me. For years. You could have had your revenge, been done with it.” I swing and I miss, bashing my fist into the wall behind her. The drywall explodes in a shower of dust.

“I told you, I didn’t know you were alive. You covered your tracks like a pro!”

“Not well enough, apparently.”

“It really was just a coincidence that I found you here, finally.”

“As hard as I find it to believe that, it doesn’t matter. You crossed the line.”

I dive in, tackling her before she can flee. We tumble, grappling. Alaya’s like a fucking gator in my grasp, bending, twisting, never letting me get a hold on her.

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