Page 73 of Taming the Demon

And… up…

Climbing a fucking mountain, avoiding the dirt road. Just in case.

“Darrow, can you get to the fucking point?” Slade asked. “And tell me what we’re doing.”

Darrow stopped and turned. He grabbed Slade by his leather cut again.

“He’s going to use her to make a statement to us. He knows more than we think but he can’t escape. He can’t let go. That time with Priest? Fitz was the one to pull the trigger but he hesitated. Remember that? I do. The guy started to fight back and it almost turned into a goddamn war. Priest finished the job. We never talked about it. It stuck in my head. I hated the idea that someone that weak had his ink on someone like Mara.”

“Man, you are so lost in this woman,” Slade said.

“Dare I even bring up what your relationship with Nelle has done to us?”

“Fuck you, Darrow.”

Darrow pushed Slade away. “The only place Fitz has to go to feel safe is that shitty cabin.”

“With the dead body in it?”

“It’s all I’ve got right now, Slade. I’m going up there and I’m going to kick in the fucking door. If Fitz isn’t there… if Mara isn’t there…”

Slade understood. It made sense to him. Sort of. The two outlaws climbed the mountain through the trees together, side by side. It was obvious they avoided the dirt road for two reasons. First was so they didn’t make any noise. They needed to sneak up on Fitz. Second was they weren’t sure if Fitz was smart enough to set any traps.

“Darrow,” Slade said a few minutes into their silent thoughts. “What if he’s working with someone? What if we’re really walking into something bad here?”

“Then the rest of the guys will find out and figure out what to do,” Darrow said. “And if Fitz isn’t running solo, the wars that will start…”

Slade noted the look of insanity in Darrow’s eyes. He understood it. It wasn’t all that long ago Slade was ready to take off his leather cut and take on the Russian mafia alone to protect Nelle. Love was violent. Love was mean. Love was a goddamn awful thing.

“There’s the cabin,” Darrow said.

“Doesn’t look like anyone is here,” Slade said.

Darrow nudged Slade and pointed.

There was a car near the cabin. It wasn’t a beat up piece of shit car either.

“Stolen,” Darrow said. “Fitz always loved to steal cars.”

“Nobody else here but him…?” Slade asked.

Darrow looked Slade dead in the eyes.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

Mara feels pain in her stomach. Intense pain. Her skin is on fire. There’s wetness. She knows the wetness is blood. She can’t breathe. Fitz has his hand over her mouth. He’s almost pinching her nose. She has to be careful with kicking and thrashing. The knife keeps cutting her. Fitz is insane. He’s beyond insane…

“I can’t wait to cut you open, whore,” Fitz growls into Mara’s ear.

Mara throws her head to the right, smashing against Fitz’s left cheek. She throws an elbow from her left. The knife disappears from her stomach for a split second. That split second allows Mara to bite Fitz’s hand. He lets her go and lets out a scream.

“Whore!” Fitz yells and pushes Mara forward.

She falls to the floor and quickly turns. Fitz reaches back and pulls out his gun. He has a gun and a knife. Mara is on theground. She’s shaking her head. Her body aches. Her stomach stings in pain from all the fresh cuts from Fitz’s knife. She needs to protect her baby. She needs to survive.

“You’re such a pussy, Fitz,” Mara said. “You’ll never shoot me. Just like you didn’t cut me all the way open. You’re a pussy. Fucking weak!”

Fitz pointed the gun. He pulled the trigger.

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