Page 80 of Protector

“Celia,” he panted, setting my teeth on edge. “You… found them… before…”

The monster thrashed against his cage of flesh and bone, begging to be set free. I should’ve cut his tongue out, but had held back, thinking he might actually give us something we could work with. If I didn’t stay on guard, he was going to push her right into another episode.

Keep her safe.

The thought had been running through my head for years. I thought I finally knew what to do, but what I was about to show her was a gamble. There was no taking it back.

She’d either come out of it stronger or retreat back into her shell.

“Jamie,” her voice was husky as she moved in front me, but there was strength in the way she said my name.

“Fuckin’ tell me who’s in control right now.” I scanned her from head to toe, searching for signs that an attack was coming.

Her chin jerked up, green eyes narrowing as she met my stare. “I am. Just show me how to do it.”

Fuck, she was perfect.

I moved to stand directly in front of Manny. “You crossed my girl, which means you crossed me. You feel me?”

“She knows where they are,” he forced out through cracked lips.

“Show me, Jamie,” she demanded, bringing a smile to my face.

I’d forced Celia into the underworld I called home, never once imagining how it was going to affect her life. Back then, it hadn’t mattered to me because what I wanted, I took.

End of story.

Women like my ma and Celia were easily broken. They were too good… too soft. The world didn’t give a fuck about what people deserved, or I would’ve been in the ground a long time ago. But the two of them? They’d deserved so much better than they’d gotten.

My princess was a fighter, though. She’d taken on not only my enemies but me as well. I’d sworn after Donald that nobody would force me to kneel, yet she had me living on my knees, happier than I’d ever been before.

“Who’s in control?” I reminded her.

“Me,” she repeated, moving to my side.

I jerked Manny’s head back, exposing his throat. “You can do what you did before, but that requires a lot of strength. Remember Remington?”

Her lips parted, and an almost dreamy look crossed her face. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve sworn she was turned on. “I remember,” she breathed quietly.

“I had to put everything into that.” I forced his chin down to his chest, causing him to cry out as I placed the tip of the blade against his head. “Now, you could go in at the base of the skull. Hold the blade flat and slide it in right here. Sever the spinal cord, and he’s dead almost instantly.”

“It’s that easy?”

“Not quite. You gotta go in between the vertebrae and cut through the spongy shit to get to it. Some guys aim for the heart or lungs, but neither is guaranteed instant death. He still might have enough in him to take you down.”

Celia crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. “Well, what am I supposed to do? Besides jiu-jitsu.”

I hid a smile, remembering how effective her martial arts skills had been… in getting me aroused.

Releasing my hold on Manny, I took a step back. “There is one thing you could try that I think would work with your build…”

I pressed the tip of the blade underneath his chin where it met his neck. “His carotid arteries run on either side. That’s what you’re aimin’ for, but you gotta get the blade in about an inch and a half. You could go in from the side and pull the blade toward you, cutting through the front, or you could drive it in underneath his chin, using your momentum to drag the blade down toward his shoulder.”

Her gaze moved between Manny and me as I demonstrated both techniques before she took the blade from my hand.

“See which one feels more comfortable.”

It was surreal, teaching my wife how to take a life. I never wanted her to have to use what she’d learned outside of this room but knew it was absolutely necessary that I give her a way to defend herself.

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