Page 24 of Butcher

Jenny plucked up a sandwich and held it in front of my mouth. “You’re not allergic to peanuts are you?”

I sure hoped not because that sandwich was in my mouth before I had a chance to answer.Moms. The whole world is just broken into children of different heights to them.Breaking off the bite, I turned my head a little so I could chew without her shoving more into my mouth.

Sloane took the sandwich from her and shook her head. “You’re going to choke her.”

I swallowed the bite and was grateful that Sloane allowed me to take the second rather than ramming it in my mouth like Jenny had. I wasn’t sure who was more likely to be the death of me, these women, the girls, the dogs, or Butcher. Why was he keeping me here? Why had he asked these women to take care of me? And where the hell was he?

They sat there in shifts for most of the day, talking. My eyes were nearly crossing when they finally fed me dinner, then left me alone. A couple times during the day they’d dragged different men in to untie me—though the handcuffs never came off—so I could use the bathroom. I was in stimulation overload after a day of getting to know the women better. There were more kids here, a lot more, than just Jenny’s four daughters. I got to hear all about them, and what the women did for work, and I hadn’t even asked a single question.

I considered that for future missions, this might be the best way to gather intel. They simply couldn’t stop talking. Of course, that would mean going through all of this again. Could I handle that?

They’re actually kind of sweet.

That thought made me frown. It had come, unbidden, all on its own. What washappeningto me? Ireallyneeded to get out of here. This place must do something to people. Like make them decent and kind. That wasn’t me.

I froze as the door squeaked open, Sloane had only shut it part way when she left to put her baby to sleep. Apparently some woman named Sylvia had been watching the kids most of the day as the moms came and went from my room. Sucking in a breath, I waited as I saw one of the dogs as he stuck his head through the opening and gave me the evil eye. It was the older dog, Auron. He watched me, unblinking, for about thirty seconds, snorted out a sound, then disappeared. The sound of his toenails clacking on the wood floors got fainter and I finally exhaled.

Sure, my cat would probably eat my body if I died in my apartment at home in Dallas, but she wouldn’t kill me. I wasn’t so sure about those dogs. Everyone kept saying how sweet they usually were. And yet, they really didn’t like me. It wasn’t hard to see that.

I tipped my head back and studied the ceiling. The silence was a damn relief, but now I was back to where I’d been this morning, waiting on Butcher. He was going to pay for this. I wasn’t sure how yet, but he would. I’d make sure of it. First, I just needed to find a way out of here.

CHAPTER 9

Butcher

Stretching and sucking in a deep breath, I woke up. When my hard-on brushed up against a thick ass, I opened my eyes and grinned. Isla had been here for three days and she was getting more and more pissed every day. It was adorable the way she snapped and snarled at me every time I came home. The way she promised to kill me, to gut me, and strangle me. She never described the same method twice. It was so…personal. It made me feel.

She wasn’t thrilled at being confined. I understood. I’d hate that, too. I thought about the penetrating gaze as her eyes followed me around the room while I was here. It screamedI’m going to enjoy gutting you.I smiled, it seemed we had a lot in common. Or at least something I never figured I’d find in a woman. Who in their right mind would expect to find a girl who loved violence in the same way I did? It just pissed me off that I wasn’t able to stay here with her during the day.

We’d been searching for the last three days through the list ofnames Rip had found. It would have been helpful to know if Randal was the man’s first or last name. But we were nearing the end of the names. We were close. I felt it.

“Are you letting me go today?”

Her voice was husky from sleep and I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her closer to my body. I hadn’t fucked her again. There’d been no time. Each night I got home, we ate, showered, and then fell into bed. I’d never had a woman in my bed. They were fucked on the floor, against the wall, on a desk, the bar top downstairs—though I hadn’t done that since the kids were all here—and none ever made it to my bed. Until the other night. Isla was here, and she fit. It was a strange feeling, the rightness of waking with her in my arms.

The sleep I’d gotten in the last couple nights was...addicting. If I wasn’t into her, I’d probably keep her around for that alone. But as luck would have it, I was interested. For once, I wanted to get to know a woman. I wanted to know if she had a favorite knife, what her preferred way to torture someone was. “No.”

You don’t get to leave.

She sighed. “Of course not. Mind telling me why you’re keeping me here?”

“Like I’m going to release you out into the world to try to kill me again?” That wasn’t the reason. It just made for a good excuse.

She shuffled and rolled in my arms until she was facing me, her hands were still cuffed because I wasn’t an idiot. I doubted she’d make a real attempt to kill me, but I couldn’t just give her an easy opportunity. She smiled prettily at me. “What if I promised?” She batted her lashes.

I chuckled. “Not happening. Once we find Randal, I’ll decide what to do with you.” She froze in my arms, all pretense washed away by the concern on her face. Was it for me? Or Randal?

“That’s what you’ve been doing?” she asked, those gorgeous gray eyes searching mine. “Looking for Randal?”

The early hour and the fact that all my blood was down in my dick had loosened my tongue. I was getting sloppy. Whatever. I nodded.

She huffed out a little breath. “You shouldn’t do that,” she warned.

I arched a brow at her. “Why not? You think he’s a threat?”

“It’s not him you have to worry about,” she admitted, hesitating a little as she spoke. “He works for some powerful people. This isn’t the normal group of amateurs you guys have been up against lately.”

Amateurs? If she meant that the cultists, Freemont, and the Italians were amateurs then who the fuck did Randal work for?

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