Page 122 of Jagger

That was dicey given I’d smelled alcohol on his breath. He’d likely taken a couple of shots for courage.

The fucking coward.

When I slowed down, he hissed from behind me, shoving me forward using the barrel of his weapon. “Keep fucking walking.”

I did but spun around, throwing out my arms as I backed away. “Why not just do it here?”

“Because I have a special spot where you deserve to die.” The gleam in his eye was telling.

The cliff. He was planning on walking all the way to the drop-off that was another two miles from here. “Look, what the hell do you want?’

“Isn’t that obvious? Your death. You deserve to die for what you did to my sister.”

My patience was reaching the end. “I loved Sheila. We were going to get married.”

“You sure know how to show your guilt and remorse. By shacking up with some porn star?”

I instantly bristled. “I suggest you shut the fuck up.”

“Oh, don’t worry, killer. I’m going to enjoy spending time with her. When I get finished, she’ll never want or need another man.”

The hard snap of my anger was instantaneous. I swung around, lunging toward him, easily able to knock him to the ground.

With the gun flying out of his hand, I issued several brutal punches, catching him under the chin and in the stomach.

He was stronger than he looked, kicking me in the face. I was pitched backward and he immediately scrambled for the weapon.

“No!” I yelled, throwing myself at him again. As we both fell to the ground, I rolled to one side, immediately clambering to my feet. Four savage punches later and his body was teetering back and forth. The hard crack meant I’d broken his nose. Blood streamed from his nostrils as well as his mouth.

He’d managed to punch me in the eye with enough force stars were shimmering in front of both. “I suggest you stop right now and you can live.”

Harrison grinned. “I think you got this wrong.”

We both dove for the weapon, our hands colliding. As we wrestled, he managed to yank it from me, both jerking to our feet at the same time.

I backed away, calculating what the hell I could do at this point.

He lifted the weapon, pointing it at my head. If I could rush forward at the right time, I’d pin him to the huge tree behind him, maybe able to get the gun from his hand. “You don’t want to do this, Harrison. You know I didn’t kill her. They did, the monsters who captured us.”

“It doesn’t matter, buddy. You weren’t supposed to take her off the base. You did this to her. My baby sister died because of you and now, it’s time to meet your maker.” His hand was shaking, but I sensed he intended on following through with his plans.

Years before, I honestly hadn’t cared if I died on duty or elsewhere. I’d had nothing to live for.

Now, I did.

The woman I’d fallen hard for, the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Bella.

As he pressed his finger against the trigger, I heard a crunch of leaves behind me. When his gaze was lifted for a brief second, I dove to the ground.

And I immediately heard two things.

A primal yell from a decidedly female voice and a whooshing sound.

A split second later, a bolt punctured his upper arm, the force of the weapon used tossing him against the huge oak, the sharp point driven past the bark into the heart of the tree.

As I looked up, Bella remained with the crossbow in her hands, already reaching for another bolt.

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