Page 54 of Repossess My Heart

“If I knew you’d make it so easy, I would’ve cut to the chase years ago.”

He nods, finally turning towards me, his mask securely in place, “Suppose you killed my contact then?”

I can’t bat down the smirk. “Don’t be too sad. I fed him a snack first.”

I’ve never seen his face, not like the others, so I picture a giant dick there instead. My aching shoulders pull up in a shrug taking a step to his side starting this little dance of ours, “Either way I figured it’d be more effective to take your life than your title. I don’t care for fancy dinners with thebosses.”I can’t keep the sneer out of my voice on that last word, the weight of the lie coming and going as it bears down on my chest. We’re circling each other now, two predators waiting for the perfect moment to rip the throat out of the other.

Every moment is the perfect one for a murder.

My blade is out of its sheath as I run up a strut, using it as leverage to get over his colossal frame. The tip of my knife grazes the perfect spot just between where his armor and helmet meet. Just inches below his carotid artery, but he’s fast. His hands grip my vest before I land the jump, hauling me to the ground. From then on, it’s blades, boots and fists. Each one indiscriminate in its goal to maul. He tosses a knife, the blade of it burying deep in my arm earning him a hiss. He laughs. Something about the jarring sound makes my pulse jump and my skin crawl.

“Your little pet has really worn you down the past few days, Nine.” He grunts as I jerk the blade from my arm, biting back the pain that comes with it. Even as the warmth of my blood spills out beneath my amour. Physical pain is relative to the amount of time you spend thinking about it. So, I don’t think. My boot connects with the center of his chest, knocking him off balance giving me an opening. When his back meets the railing, I’m already there. Excitement spins deep in my gut as I slam his own blade into the top of his helmet. It should’ve been a fatal hit; he only staggers slightly before hauling me off him. My back doesn’t even hit the floor as I skid, using the momentum to steady myself, then I’m up again, coming at him again.

He’s ready. He’s been ready every time.

Do something different.

When his body slams into mine, this time I take the hit head on. Leaving us both on the ground. My mechanical arm obeys me as it shifts its shape fusing my fingers together to make another weapon. He rears back, trying to get to his feet when I band my legs around him, holding him against me where he’s got me pinned to the damp concrete floor. His grunt leaves him like a growl as I send the attachment into the visor of his helmet.

Harder.

Stab.

Stab.

Harder.

When the visor bursts, I halt just for a moment, but it’s a mistake. It’s enough. His implanted eye locks on to mine as his hands tighten around my arm, halting it just inches before it impales him. Sweat slicks my forehead as we struggle, locked in place. Brute power won’t help him now. It’s the exhaustion that’ll decide who wins. My muscles are throbbing, shaking. We’ve been at this for a while… evenly matched.

It makes me want to kill him even more.

“You can fix this, Nine. You can come back.” He grunts, using his intense weight to bear down on me, making my chest work for each breath. Now the ineffective stab to the skull makes more sense the twat is more metal than man. A lot makes more sense, like all the nasty little upgrades he gave me.

“That sounds like no fun at all.” I heave just as a small gasp comes from the upper level, taking his attention from me. I can feel it in my bones the instant his eyes land on her. The moment his focus is on what’s mine. Mine to kill. To fuck. To hold. I jerk my head forward, sending it crushing into his helmet enough to make my vision fuzzy, but it doesn’t stop me. I’ve seen what he does to women, little piles of gore he leaves on his floor of the high rise when he bothers to stay there.

Mine.

If she’s reduced to gore, it’ll be by me, and I’ll adore every scrap of meat.

I shift my hand back, gripping his helmet and using his head to lead his body backwards. My lungs spasm and splinter as I pull shards of air through for the first time since he settled on me. The lightness to my head tells me I was suffocating underneath him. My mechanical hand crushes his mask, distorting it around his face while the other delivers blow after blow to the open visor.

“He’s going to die you know.” Michael chimes in from beside us, “I think you messed up his implant, it’s killing him.” Smoke leaks from the damaged implant. I’m not sure if it was my fist or head that did it. Michael repeats himself, in a singsong voice this time.

Ignore him. Killing Ten is the fucking point.

The sound of small, rapid footsteps forces a growl from my throat.

“Stay away from him!” I grunt. Of course, the freak doesn’t listen, but at least she’s armed.

Reverie yelps as her arms come down, a glint of a glowing blade following their descent. I stop just for a moment, just long enough to realize he’s long stopped fighting. My tech doing a quick scan for his drone. His body is twitching violently. Whatever I did to his implant is critical, maybe he can’t call it.

She catches my attention again; it never strays from her for long. Her dark hair tangles around her as she hacks wildly at his arm, trying to sever it. Something that should be incredibly easy with a plasma blade. Time bleeds together again and Michael won’t stop fucking talking. Before the space around my head knits itself back together, I’ve pulled the exposed orbital implant from his skull.

I’ve never wanted an implant before.

My breath is ragged as I go to lift his helmet and get his other eye, but the sound of Reverie retching halts me. She’s bowed over beside Ten’s amputated arm, vomiting. Her hands clutching her stomach like it’ll keep all the bile down.

Better out than in sweetling.

---