Page 124 of Ruthless Beasts

"As tight as they come," I confirmed. "Which means they'd kill you for touching her just as quickly as I could, if I hadn't fallen from two stories up."

"Poor planning on your part."

"I agree." The blade was like ice, the metal cooled from the rain. "Guess we're both guilty of poor planning."

The sharp tip pricked my skin, but I held his gaze, wishing there was more than a few inches distance between us. "My planning is impeccable."

"If that were true, then your son wouldn't have died at your feet." Why did I insist on taunting him so much? I didn't know. But there was something so fucking satisfying about the fire that burned in his angry eyes.

"Anything you'd like me to tell her? Final last words for me to whisper while I fuck her?"

I thought about all the things I didn't say but should have.

I loved her.

I didn't regret her.

I never had.

I loved her.

She was it for me.

If something happened to her, I'd never survive.

She was my life, and I didn't know just how much I’d missed living.

I fucking loved her.

I wished I told her that the most.

"No."

"Fantastic." Accardo laughed as he tilted his blade up, angling to perfection. "Then I'll finish my work here, carve you to pieces, and deliver them to her in a box."

I held my breath, and the tip pierced deeper and my blood flowed free. This was it, the end for me and I… well, I was at peace with it.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

BELLAMY

Their bodies sailed over me as I curled up in a ball on the floor. In a blink, their frames bent as they careened over the edge of the stone balcony. I struggled to catch my feet against the slick flooring as I frantically crawled to the edge of the balcony, pulling myself up onto weak legs so that I could look over the edge.

Right as their bodies hit the ground, a sickening crack broke the pounding of rain and my heart stopped. I forgot to breathe. I looked down at my husband, his body flat against the grass, blood coating his leg, and I nearly cried when he didn't move. I tried to scream, tried to warn him of the monster who was struggling to extract himself from the bushes, but my words were caught on a sob when he finally moved the slightest.

His hands came out in front of him as he pushed himself up, then promptly fell. Fuck.

Get the gun.

Grab it.

Protect yourself.

I wanted to shout at him, but he wouldn't hear me over the storm. Instead, I watched in horror as Accardo wrapped a rope around his neck and dragged him from my sight. I was frozen in a horrendous state of panic as I watched my husband struggle against a rope, and?—

I needed to do something.

I needed to stop this monster before he took something more precious than my life from me.

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