Page 81 of Slay Ride

“No!”

Without thinking, I turn and fire the weapon. The bolt finds a home in the Cattle’s shoulder, but it’s the wrong one. I shot the guy in the pink jumpsuit.

“Oh, shit,” I say as the man lets a scream squeal through his nose. “Sorry!”

I rush forward and drop to my knees in front of the man. Pulling his shoulders forward, I reveal the target just behind him.

Bennett whistles. “Bullseye.”

“This isn’t a joke!” I say. “Help him! He’s bleeding!”

A red puddle gathers beneath the man at an alarming rate . . . and it’s my fault.

Bennett pulls a knife from his pocket and uses it to slash through the superglue holding the man’s lips shut. Unfortunately, he snags the man’s lower lip in the process.The yellowed strip of flesh wobbles and pours blood with each scream he releases.

“Jesus, you’re making it worse!” I shout.

“Tell her what you did,” Bennett says over the man’s screams. “Tell her the truth, and I’ll let you live.”

The man’s red-rimmed gaze shuffles between us before finally landing on me. “My niece,” he blubbers. “I made her?—”

“I don’t want to know!” I push the crossbow bolt deeper, and he finishes his sentence with a scream.

Bennett presses the knife to the man’s throat. “I said,tell her.”

The man screams, then focuses on me. “I forced my six-year-old niece to?—”

I wrench the knife from Bennett’s hand and drive it into the man’s throat.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Bennett

Ared fountain jets from the wound as Cat yanks the blade backward again, and a bewildered look flashes in her blue eyes. Shock is setting in because she finally did it. She’s taken her first kill.

“Don’t stop now,” I whisper. “Ride it, kitten. Ride the wave and keep going. Feed your rage.”

Her breath comes in quick, short bursts, but instead of rushing headlong into a frenzy, she drops the knife and faces me. “Holy shit,” she says on an out breath. “Holy shit, holy shit, holy?—”

I lower my mask, then her face covering, and press my lips to hers. Fuck the cameras. She’s two seconds away from losing it, and I need to ground her again.

“Hey, look at me,” I whisper as I pull away. “You were amazing. Perfect. He’s gone, kitten, andyoudid it. You rid the world of a dark spot, but we aren’t done yet.”

With wide eyes and a gaping mouth, she turns her head and looks at her handiwork. She breathes a little faster.

Gripping her chin, I turn her head so that she faces me. “Slow down or you’ll hyperventilate. Breathe with me.” I place her hand on my chest, then take a deep breath in and a slow breath out, and she follows my lead. “He didn’t suffer. You slashed with such precision that he bled out in less than a minute.”

Cat turns her head the other way and vomits in the snow.

Guilt creeps up my spine as she shivers against me. I’m fairly certain she’s crying, and it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed her so hard, but I’m just so fucking sick of seeing her inability to realize her strengths. Maybe she’s done enough for one day. Maybe she’s done too much.

“Do you want me to call the sleigh?” I ask.

She shakes her head, steps away from me, and swipes her cheeks with her gloved fingers before raising her face covering again. “No, we aren’t finished, remember?” Still crying, she bends and picks up the crossbow. “It gets easier the more I do it, right?”

I nod at her.

“Get behind me,” she says. “I’m still not ready to do this on my own.”

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