Page 2 of Hunted for the Holidays

BOW DOWN BY I PREVAIL

“Fucking prick,” I murmur, cupping my hands and bringing them to my mouth. I blow a warm breath between my freezing palms before turning towards Wyatt, whose eyes are narrowed, tracking every detail of our surroundings. “Entitled asshole rented out this whole side of the mountain so he doesn’t have to share it with anyone.”

Never shifting his gaze from the clearing in front of us, Wyatt unzips his camo backpack and digs around. He’s silent as he pulls out a pair of gloves and tosses them in my direction, ever the fucking boy scout. While I spent my teen years doing normal shit like football and parties, my little stepbrother was earning badges for his ability to thrive in the wilderness.

“Here he comes,” Wyatt murmurs, pointing through the gap in the trees.

I follow his finger to see a set of skinny skis gliding down a shallow embankment a few yards ahead of us. Our cousin- well, really just mine by blood- moves across the powdery snow with ease and arrogance in every stride. The sight of him out here enjoying his freedom and endless money sets my teeth on edge.I was naive then, so I didn’t see what he was setting me up for. Now, I’m here to get my pound of flesh for his treachery.

Grabbing an arrow from the pack, I load my bow and raise it in the air. I start to pull back on the cable when someone yells his name, giving me pause.

A petite blonde in a designer snowsuit comes into view. She’s a pretty little thing, clearly half Kit’s age and way out of his league. Even with the suit on, I can make out the slope of a perky ass. She looks uptight, like she’d be prim and proper and oh so much fun to break. I don’t know who she is to him, but I know he won’t be getting to play with that pretty little thing after I’m done here. Maybe I’ll keep her for myself.

“Who would be out here with him?” Wyatt asks in a low voice, as if he’s reading my mind.

“I don’t fucking know,” I growl, lowering the bow. My cock stirs to life at the sight of the woman’s golden hair and pristine skin. She turns her face slightly, allowing me to see her beautiful blue eyes and rosy lips. She’s a delicate little angel andI want her.She can be my prize after all this is done. I’ll bet she looks oh so pretty when she begs.

Kit comes to a sudden stop, pivoting on his skis as he shuffles in her direction. Anger etches his features, his lip curling up in disgust, but as his mouth opens, the wind kicks up. The wicked howl of the icy air conceals whatever it is he has to say, but by the way her face drops in response, it was obviously some sort of threat. She flinches when he brings his hand up, like she’s scared of him.

They both start to move again. Kit’s strides are twice as long as hers, and he quickly starts to pull ahead, leaving her behind. I raise my bow again to take aim, but I’ve lost my shot.

“I can’t get a good shot off from here with all the shadows,” I mutter as I ease to my feet.

“I can do it,” Wyatt replies gruffly, slapping a hand on my shoulder and shoving me down. I lose my balance, knocking back into some brush as he grabs the bow from my hand and loads it.

My little snow bunny stops in her tracks, swiveling her head around at the sound. I like the way her pouty lips part, a foggy breath escaping them as she trembles in place. Fear creases her features as she looks for the source, calling out for that oblivious douchebag again. Her terror calls to me. I want to watch her cry for me as I pin her down and take her.

Wyatt’s arrow pierces Kit’s leg, his responding scream reverberating around the mountainside and the blonde stumbling to her ass as the scene unfolds.

Adrenaline courses through my system as I rush out from the treeline, my breath condensing behind my dark ski mask. Running full speed then ramming my boot into my pathetic cousin’s back and I force him face-first into the snow. Twisting my foot, the crampons tear through his expensive coat and blood soaks through the light-colored material as the metal spikes penetrate his flesh. The pop of his skin breaking open as I dig into his back is satisfying as fuck. He shrieks in pain, the sound causing the corners of my lips to lift into a smile. I bring up my foot, releasing the sharpened spears of my metal spikes from his flesh, and with a few kicks to the ribs, Wyatt flips him onto his back.

“Hello, cousin,” I drawl, lifting up my balaclava.

“Derek?” He coughs, looking up at me wide-eyed. “I thought y-you…”

“Thought I was serving ten years for the embezzlement charges you set me up for?”

His throat bobs roughly as he nods, the snow beneath him turning a deeper shade of crimson with each passing moment.

“Got out a couple of weeks ago for good behavior,” I shrug. “I would’ve called, but someone changed their number.”

“I-I can,” he chokes on a swallow, crimson splattering from his lips, “explain.”

My lips spread into an easy grin as I pull my bowie knife from its sheath. “I don’t want your excuses, cousin,” I murmur, holding the nine-inch blade up in front of my face and admiring the way the sun glints off the metal. “You know what I really want, Kit?” I muse, meeting his fear-filled eyes. “Revenge.”

With a sweep of my arm, I plunge the blade straight down into his stomach. Feathers from his fancy coat fly around me as I yank it back out and slam the bloody blade into his soft center, again and again. The feeling of my knife bursting through the surface of his skin and tearing open his insides is enough to make my dick hard. I slow my stabs, savoring each delicious moment of his agonizing pain. His screams and wails lessen as his life drains from him right before my eyes.

“At least you know why I’m doing this. Unlike when you betrayed me. You stabbed me in the back and ran. Leaving me alone and confused. You couldn’t even face me like a man, you fucking coward,” I murmur, the knife making a squelching sound as I stab him one last time. Seven wounds now litter his abdomen; one for each year I was locked up. His mouth hinges open with a gargled gasp and a puddle of blood sullies the snow around him. I knew my revenge would feel good, I just didn’t anticipate how absolutely exhilarating it would be.

“Find his wallet,” I order Wyatt. “Asshole’s got to have some cash on him.”

Wyatt sinks to his knees and starts going through Kit’s pockets, the sound of snow crunching prompting me to whip my head around before I can even put my knife away. The small blonde has managed to ditch the skis and is running full speed towards the trees.

Fuck, I forgot about my little snow bunny.

Taking off after her, I quickly close the distance between us. She’s fast, but I’m faster. Guess the only good thing about spending most of my twenties in jail is that I had nothing better to do than work out. In one quick movement, I lunge forward, taking us both to the ground.

“Caught you, little bunny,” I say, pinning her beneath me.

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