Page 57 of The Carver

Bastien grabbed the guy by the throat and slammed him down into the floor like he weighed nothing. Then he loomed over him like an intimidating statue about to come to life. He lifted his heavy boot and propped it against the front of the man’s neck, but he kept his weight on his back foot.

The guy lay still, his chest rising and falling with his deep, labored breaths.

Bastien stared down at him. “Tell me who sent you, or I’ll break your windpipe.”

I should duck behind the table again because I didn’t want to see this. Didn’t want to watch Bastien make good on his threat right in front of me. But my eyes stayed in place, needing to see the outcome of the attack. The guy beside me had started to bleed out and went silent. He continued to breathe because he was still alive, but not for long.

The man under Bastien’s foot kept his silence.

“And you know breaking your windpipe is only the beginning.”

He trembled on the floor, straining to draw breath as Bastien applied more pressure with his foot. “Based on the pathetic way you guys came at me, he sounds like an amateur. Are you willing to die for an amateur?”

Once Bastien applied more pressure, he tried to grab Bastien’s shoe and push back, but since Bastien had to weigh over two hundred pounds in muscle, it was pointless. “Please… If I tell you, he’ll kill my family.”

Bastien kept his foot in place with a stonelike expression. “Then this is your fault for working for a man who has no honor. And you deserve what’s about to happen to you.”

“You could let me go?—”

Without warning, he struck like a viper and slammed his foot down on the man’s throat.

I looked away so I wouldn’t have to see it.

There was no scream, not when his throat collapsed. The sound he made was like a guttural moan.

Then I heard Bastien stomp again, and that made the man wince like an animal that had been shot but forced to live. There was another stomp and a restrained scream—and then silence.

I squeezed my eyes closed even though I was behind the table and gripped my arms with clenched hands, shaking like I was the bleeding victim instead of some man who had just tried to kill us. My knees were to my chest, and somehow, the silence was more painful than the noise.

Then Bastien spoke to someone he knew, like he was on the phone. “Must be doing a good job…because some assholes just tried to kill me.”

Bastien pulled the table away like I was trapped against the wall and couldn’t get out.

I just chose to stay there and hide.

“Sweetheart.” He kneeled down beside me, blocking my view of the guy who’d bled out.

It took several seconds for me to have the courage to look him in the eye.

His stare was no longer vicious like it’d been during the fight. It was kind and gentle, the way it was whenever he comforted me. His blue eyes shifted back and forth between mine as he assessed my state of mind. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

I trembled like I was afraid of him, but I just needed more time to process what had happened. “Me too.”

“It’s over now.”

I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure why.

He continued to assess me. “You’re still afraid. I hope I’m not the one you’re afraid of.”

I wasn’t afraid of him, but only because we were allies and not enemies. However, under different circumstances, I would be utterly fucking terrified. “No, of course not. I’m—I’m just overwhelmed.”

“Come here.” He was on one knee, and he opened his arms to take me.

I left the wall and moved into his chest, and then I felt his thick arms encircle me and hold me close. They were the same arms that had destroyed all his opponents, but they made me feel safer than I ever had.

“It’s okay.” He rested his chin on my head as he held me tight. “I’d never let anything happen to you, sweetheart.” He dipped his mouth and pressed a kiss to my hair as he cocooned me in the safety of his arms.

“Bastien.”

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