Page 109 of Cruel Games

I jogged and caught up to her, uncaring if she heard me approach or not, and just as I reached out to grab her by the shoulder, she turned that bat on me, assuming I was another creep here to hit on a woman who didn’t want it.

Instead, I caught her bat and stopped it midair, the move jarring me to the bone as the sudden action sent a shockwave of pain up my arm and into my shoulder.

Her eyes were lifeless like they’d been in the apartment, but there was something barely there, something in their depths that she struggled to cling to, like a mouse in the river, trying its damnedest not to drown as the waters swirled around its little body and carried it away from shore.

Something in her wanted to live. To survive. But was it enough?

Would it be a mercy to let her end herself this way?

“You’ve gotta stop killing pricks on the sidewalk, Ivy. It’s not good for our image, you know. We have a process these things have to go through.”

She stared me down, her mouth turning down in a scowl as those empty eyes narrowed, and the heat of rage rose within them. “Go to hell,” she muttered, clearly not recognizing me.

Maybe it was the collar.

Ha. Ha ha. Funny.

I tried again, irritation rising in my gullet like a death row inmate’s last meal. “Listen, Ivy, you can’t just go around killing people. You’re a member of the Guild now.” My eyes caught on something shiny attached to her dress that I hadn’t noticed before. “What’s this?”

She flinched as I reached for it, her whole body curling in on itself as her eyes cleared a little and recognition rose from their depths. “None of your business,” she snapped, yanking the bat out of my grip. I let it go, not eager to obtain splinters over a fucking tug of war. “Leave me alone, Jackal, or you’re next.”

I smirked as she turned her back on me and started to stalk off. I wasn’t about to be discarded so easily, so I followed her, intentionally jabbing a dagger of words into her side at every opportunity.

“Oh, don’t threaten me with a good time, kitten. I might like it.” With each step, my words grew crueler, more biting, intending to sting her enough to provoke her so I could end this. “You know damn well you’re not going to find what you’re looking for out there. Why are you running from me? Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared,” she snapped, her voice cracking as the words left her lips. “Not of you.”

“That’s not what it looks like, kitten,” I crooned, teasing her as I walked backward and she stalked further down the alley, coming to a dead end before she realized I’d led her right here intentionally.

And now, she was cornered.

Mission accomplished. Now I just had to talk the sense back into her.

“You look like you’re ready to kill me,” I said suddenly, eyeing the bat as she lifted it over her shoulder again in preparation to swing. “How come, Ivy? Do you want to hurt me?”

“Yes,” she growled, her eyes cutting away, returning to mine. “I want you to die so I never have to look at you again.” She shifted that bat and grimaced. “Now, hold still so I don’t miss.”

I ducked as she swung the first time, dancing just out of her reach on swing two. For the third one, she let out a shriek of frustration, and I let her overcompensate for the move she thought I’d make, grabbing her bat mid-swing to tug it forward. I led her further than she’d intended and used that momentum against her, dragging her into my grip as I tossed the bat on the ground beside us.

I pinned her struggling ass against the building and snarled as she writhed in my grip. “You can’t hurt me, kitten, unless I let you.” My teeth snapped next to her ear, and I watched as the realization that she was vulnerable set in and took over. Brought a trace of humanity back to her. “And I don’t plan to give you that power tonight.”

“I’m not your kitten,” she growled, yelping as I spun her around and pushed her front against the bricks. “Let me go, Jackal, before you do something you regret.”

“I don’t have regrets,” I shot back, using my body as leverage. “And you don’t scare me. Bigger men than you have tried and failed to take me down.”

“Fuck you, Jackal.”

I grinned wider. “I’d love to, but instead, I’m out here, chasing your ass down.”

“You can just walk away, you know,” she pointed out. “YOu know what’ll happen if you let me keep going.”

I knew exactly what would happen to her, which was why I couldn’t let her go. I had to do something, and fast, but carrying her out of this alley over my shoulder would earn me more attention than I wanted.

“You’re just the most insufferable bitch I’ve ever fucking met, do you know that?” I asked her, growling as her ass rubbed against my crotch. “Stop fighting me.”

“Go to hell,” she spat over her shoulder, bringing her thick-soled foot down on the instep of my right boot.

I howled, biting the sound off with a chuckle-groan, pissed beyond comprehension as she laughed at my pain.

---