Page 52 of Butcher

Glancing over at Toxic, I saw the forced smile on his face as his dad spoke about Clay. He’d told me one night, while drunk, that he’d hero worshiped his brother. Remembering that he’d checked on me earlier, I kicked the side of his boot, forcing him to look my way. I didn’t know what to say, so I lifted an eyebrow. One side of his lips lifted in a small smile and he nodded at me. He was okay. Not wanting to draw attention to him when he was hurting, I gave a curt nod and focused back on his father.

I was pretty sure losing Clay was a big reason why Toxic had even signed up for the military. They’d lost their mom, Darryl’s wife, when Toxic was young and it meant that the three men grew close over the years. Losing Clay had widened the hole inside of them that the loss of Ellie had formed. Darryl had never remarried, and for those of us who knew him well, it was easy to see the love he still had for his wife.

Bringing the beer bottle to my lips, I drank as I watched everyone around me interacting. Most of the men had their old ladies on their laps. Sylvia had offered to babysit tonight so we could all spend time together. This was going to be the only chance we’d really get since the next couple days would be full of planning and packing. We had a fuck ton of firepower coming with us. It meant more than half of us would need to drive cage rides up to the mountains in order to transport everything.

One of the reasons we were still here was that Lock had called on an old friend who was gathering everything we’d need. From more guns to grenades to a damn rocket launcher. We weren’t leaving any of this up to chance. We were only going to get one shot at these guys and we had to make it count. If this attack failed, we’d have to search each person out one by one and that would take fucking forever.

I’d called Gail at the beginning of this and told her to make sure she and the rest of my old team laid low until I took care of the problem. My handler was smart, it was why they’d assigned her to me, so I knew she was camped out on some tropical beach somewhere living it up while she ‘laid low’. She had a thing for the beach and those girly cocktails.

My eyes landed on Isla and I couldn’t hold back the grin. I’d gottena small taste of what she was capable of when she helped us out in the railyard, and again when she’d taken Warrant and Scythe to the ground. I knew Cypher, well, knewofhim since we’d only met a couple times, and he didn’t hire useless fucks. He took only the most talented from the military and government organizations. Lock had even mentioned he’d tried to lure Toxic back and recruit me, though I never heard about it. The fact that she was able to get the jump on Warrant and hold her own against Scythe for as long as she did just spoke to how talented she was.

If the situation were different, if my brothers and their families weren’t at risk, I might go head on at these bastards with Isla by my side. Hip to hip slaying motherfuckers. But we couldn’t take the chance that they would search out our families and come after everyone here. We needed to take them out in one fell swoop. Isla’s plan should make that possible.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed while I was lost in my own thoughts, but soon people started getting up and heading upstairs. Jenny was sleeping against Priest’s chest as he carried her off to bed. My gaze flicked over to Isla again. Going to bed sounded like a good idea, though not to sleep. “Our turn, too,” I announced.

Toxic shot me an amused look as I stood up and walked over to Isla. I didn’t stop to ask or wait, just lifted her out of the chair, then flipped her over my shoulder. Laughter followed us out of the room as I carried her upstairs.

“I can walk, you know?” she huffed, but she wasn’t struggling.

“More fun this way,” I replied, opening my door and shutting it behind us.

“What if I wasn’t ready for bed?”

“That’s just fine because we’re not up here to sleep.” I set her on her feet and caught the cautious look she sent my way. Shit had been busy and she’d been asleep most nights when I got back. I had a feeling she was trying to avoid being alone with me. If that was her game, I was about to win. “Have a seat.”

She glanced over her shoulder at the chair I’d kept her in the first few days she was here. “Why?”

“Just sit down, Terror.”

She narrowed her eyes, but went over to the chair and sat like I asked. She watched every move I made as I went across the room and grabbed a length of rope from the closet. “What’s that for?”

“You.”

She looked intrigued, but also like she might bolt.

“Go ahead,” I told her in a low voice, “run.”

She scowled at me. “So you can chase me down and tackle me in the hallway?” She crossed her arms below her breasts, pushing them higher. I didn’t bother to try to not stare. “No, thank you.”

“So polite,” I told her, stalking closer with the rope. We were about to go into a fight where we might not come out alive. She wasn’t going to avoid me up until then. I held the rope out between my hands and waited, staring straight into her gorgeous gray eyes. The moment they softened and she sighed, then nodded, I tied her up. Her hands were bound behind her, leaving her breasts thrust forward, so I squeezed one as I walked past her once more.

She was trying to hide her excitement behind a resigned expression, but I could see it. I read her easily. Her eyes followed me as I crossed to the closet once more, grabbing something that was still new in the box. Never had a reason to use it before, but I wanted to now. It had the option of batteries or to charge with a USB, so I shoved a pair of batteries in and turned it on.

Murder’s head snapped up when she heard the buzzing and both females watched as I crossed back toward the chair. I held the vibrator in my hand and grinned when I saw Isla’s scowl turn wary. Setting it on the end of the bed, with it still going so she had an idea of what she was in for, I pulled out my knife and flipped it open.

“I’m not into pain like that,” she told me.

Taking a hold of her shirt, I met her eyes as I let my blade cut through the fabric. “You don’t want me to cut you?”

“Nope,” she replied, holding my stare. “I’d rather watch you cut up your enemies. More fun for me that way.”

I chuckled and nodded. “Okay.” I wasn’t planning on cutting her. Marring all that gorgeous flesh should come with a death penalty.Well, unless it was palm prints from me smacking her thick ass or bruises from me grabbing or biting her. That was fine. But to cut her? Fuck no.

“No, not my-” she broke off with a sigh as I cut through her bra. “You’re hell on my wardrobe.”

“I’ll buy you more.” I’d have to send her out after the lacy things she was wearing under her clothes though. I didn’t know shit about bras and panties, just that they made my mouth water when I saw them on her. And gave me the insatiable urge to cut them off her. Which I did to the thong she was wearing as soon as I got her jeans down around her ankles.

“My feet aren’t tied,” she complained. “You could have just slid those off.”

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