Page 55 of Infernal

I ticked my chin to the exit and then followed as Dominic led us back into the corridor. I was about to tell him about my plan to wait the witch out, when I saw her come around the corner like a cursed gift from the heavens.

I narrowed my eyes and watched as she flipped her hair to the side and then continued banging away on her phone, strutting down the hallway as though it were her own personal runway.

Something broke loose inside of me—anger, revenge, hatred—and it rattled through me like tremors from an earthquake. All I could think about was the way she left me to die. The look on her face as I begged for my life.

Suddenly, I couldn’t remember the reason I was here in the first place.

I couldn’t remember anything but her betrayal. I ran towards her, my feet hitting the marble floors like gunshots firing through the building as the sweet nectar of revenge settled on my tongue.

Nikki Parker was going to get her just desserts, and I was going to be the one to serve them.

20. WILD CARD

Nikki’s eyes flicked up and met mine a fraction of a second too late. I was already gunning for her at full speed when I whipped out my arm and clotheslined her neck, knocking her ass straight to the ground. She hit the floor fast and hard, the air rushing out of her lungs with an audible swoosh.

“You stupid bitch!Recedite!” snarled Nikki as she threw her palm out at me. The incantation sent an invisible force of energy barreling into my stomach and knocking me back several feet away from her.

And to my dismay, it kept me there.

My anger quickly morphed into something more primal as I envisioned myself ramming that magic energy all the way down her throat. I slashed my arm through the invisible force, fighting it as though I could somehow push it away, and surprisingly, it worked.

With a small taste of freedom, I charged at her again just as she threw another wave of her mojo at me, though this time, it barely slowed me down.

“Recedite!” she screamed again, panic staining her tone as I continued to push my way through the force. The image of my fingers wrapped around her throat, driving me forward with the sweet promise of repayment.

Her eyes doubled in size as she frantically shuffled backwards, desperate to put space between us now that her magic wasn’t working. I closed the last bit of distance and threw myself down on her, my knee pressing into her gut as I grabbed her by her neck and squeezed.

Terror and lack of oxygen painted her eyes red, but even that didn’t stop me from pressing down harder against her windpipe.

I may as well have been standing outside my body, because I sure as hell wasn’t in control of it anymore. All I could think about was making her pay—making her suffer the way I suffered at the hands of Engel for all those weeks.

And I squeezed harder.

“As much as I’m enjoying this little show, I think you’ve made your point, angel,” said Dominic as he wrapped an arm around my waist and attempted to peel me off her.

But I refused to budge, even for him.

“You’re going to kill her,” he warned, and while I could somewhat understand the words he was telling me, they barely perforated my awareness enough to make the slightest difference.

“Angel!” he shouted, this time firmer. “Get a hold of yourself! Youneedher!”

“My ass I need her!” I snapped back and then inwardly cringed as Trace’s beautiful face floated through my mind.

Dammit. Ididneed her—I needed her to help me save him!

Putting his salvation above my own need for revenge, I released my death-grip on her throat and sat back on my knees as the rest of me slowly regained lucidity. Nikki immediately began coughing and gasping for air as she frantically tried to refill her lungs.

If you asked me, she was trying to sell it way too hard.

“You crazy bitch,” she croaked hoarsely as she crawled backwards on her elbows. “You almost killed me!”

I probably should have felt some sort of remorse for that, but I didn’t.

“Don’t act as if you didn’t have it coming.”

“I hardly think the crime fits the punishment,” she said, still clutching her neck. “You seriously need help.”

“You watched me get my throat sliced and then handed me over to Engel so he could finish the job, and you think I’m the one that needs help? I should hang you by your feet and bleed you out, you stupid—”

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