Page 90 of Butcher

“They didn’t care. They needed mindless killers. They’d found a situation where we wouldn’t do their bidding. So we weren’t useful anymore. Couldn’t take the chance of us disobeying again.” We all turned back to Randal after I said that. He was quietly dangling off, knowing if I let go of that coat he wouldn’t be able to correct and avoid the fall.

“Who took out the contract on my life?” I demanded.

“Evan Danners,” he gasped as I let him slip a little.

“Where can I find him?”

Randal got wise to what was happening here. “If I tell you that, he’ll kill me!”

“You’realreadydead, Randal. I told you that.”

“He’s here,” Randal said, sounding resigned to his fate.

“In Belize?”

“Why do you think I came here? Whose place do you think this is?”

“Why would he help you?” Warrant asked.

“Because Randal is a direct line to him,” Isla explained. “He’s the only one who knows who his clients are. Without Randal you can’t hire an assassin. At least, most can’t. He’s the biggest middle man in this part of the world.”

“Address,” I growled, shaking the man into compliance.

He rattled off an address. “You’ll let me go now?”

“Sure,” I said with a smile.

He looked over his shoulder, a hopeful expression filling his face.

“Butcher,” Isla said, her tone holding a warning. Toxic just shook his head and she fell quiet.

“Really?” Randal asked.

“Yeah, absolutely,” I told him. “You answered all my questions. I have no problem letting you go.” I used the hand that wasn’t holding him to grab my knife.

“Thank-” His voice broke off as I plunged my blade into hisabdomen, then ripped downward. He stared down in shock as his guts slowly started to escape from his body. As soon as the horror spread over his face, I released my hold on him. He screamed all the way to the pavement.

We couldn’t hear the sickening crunch quite the way I wanted to from up here, but seeing Randal splattered all over the stone courtyard eased the rage inside of me a fraction. As much as I’d wanted to keep him alive and slowly kill him, there just wasn’t time. Not when I had another asshole to track down.

“Give a guy a head’s up next time,” Scythe shouted from down below. “You almost dropped that worthless fucker on me!”

I turned and pulled Isla into my arms. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, Butcher,” she replied, burying her face in my neck.

She wasn’t fine. She had bruises on her neck and I was sure there were more I couldn’t see yet, but I’d take care of her on the way home, and every day after. All it took was seeing her dangling from that roof to know I wasn’t letting her out of my sight, much less out of my life.

“You can’t just go in there!”

The door slammed shut in the secretary’s face as we ignored her and stormed into her boss’s office. “You Evan Danners?” I asked.

“Yeah. Who are-” The gunfire shut him up and he stared down in shock at the bullet holes in his chest.

“Who else sent Randal and his assassins after me?” I asked.

“Who-” He coughed, blood splattering his chin.

“I’m Butcher. You had Randal put a contract out on my life. Did you hire anyone else?”

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