Page 44 of Ruthless Bonds

I kicked my leg back and clipped him in the mouth with my boot, but that didn’t stop him. He yanked me back down, flipped me over, and straddled my stomach. His icy hands came around my throat. “I’m going to fucking kill you,” he seethed, saliva and blood dripping from his mouth onto me.

I screamed—well, I tried to—and scratched at his arms and face, anywhere I could try to draw blood. There was no way I was going to die like this.

We were so close to being free. It was all coming together. I couldn’t die. Not now.

A crack rang out. His eyes widened in surprise, his hands loosening around my neck as he grabbed the back of his head. “What the fuck?” He turned to look over his shoulder, and that was when the bat connected with his jaw.

He howled in pain and landed next to me, blood flying everywhere. I rolled over and saw Dove standingthere wide-eyed with the bat in her hands.

She took a step forward, fury blazing in her eyes, raised the bat over her head and slammed it down into his face. Again and again, she swung the bat with so much force it was like she was in a frenzy and couldn’t stop. You couldn’t even make out his face anymore. It was completely gone.

I scrambled to my feet and reached for her, her eyes wild. “Dove, stop. He’s dead now. It’s OK. He’s dead.” My fingers trembled as I reached for the bat and grabbed it from her.

Her breath came out in short, rapid gasps as she stared down at Dario on the ground. She looked at me, then back to him, as if she’d just realized what she’d done. She reached up and covered her mouth.

“It’s OK, don’t freak out. We’re fine.” A noise from behind me made me realize our front door was open, and I raced over and shut it.

If anyone had heard what had happened, they weren’t coming to help. Nobody ever did that in this neighborhood. You were on your own here.

I paced back over to Dove, who was now sitting on the floor next to Dario, staring at what used to be his face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

“We need to call the police,” she typed.

A heavy weight settled in my stomach as I read her message. “No.” I shook my head, my jaw clenching so tight my teeth ached. “We can’t.”

“It was self-defense.” Her eyes watered as she held up her phone.

I hated to be the one to break it to her, but there was no way a cop was going to look at his body and sayself-defense. “Dove, his face is caved in.”

He’d deserved every swing of that bat, but the system was fucked up. We would be in trouble, even though he’d broken in and tried to assault me.

Tears spilled down her cheeks and she locked her arms around her knees. I could see she was terrified, but I wasn’t going to let anything happen. I kneeled and gripped her shoulders. “Hey, don’t do that—get lost in your head. You saved me.” It was hard to speak with a lump in my throat. “You saved me, and I owe you my life.” I squeezed her as hard as I possibly could, making her gasp for air.

After a moment, I pulled back and gripped her hands in mine. “We just need to think for a second.” A million thoughts ran through my head. How could we get rid of the body and all this blood?

Dove’s fingers flew furiously over her phone. “We could cut him into smaller pieces and throw him in the river?”

It was like she’d read my mind, and I couldn’t stop the hysterical laugh that came out of my mouth. She eyed me like I was a lunatic, but then a smile slowly started to spread across her face. In no time, she was laughing right along with me. Tears streamed down the corners of my eyes, and it wasn’t until I leaned over and slipped in blood that I sobered back up.

I sighed, letting my shoulders drop. There was an obvious solution to all of this, but I didn’t know what the outcome would be. What would he want if I asked him for this favor? Asked him to save my sister? To save me? My mouth went dry as a tremor ran through my body.

“I know what to do.” I pulled out my phone, myhands shaking uncontrollably.

Goosebumps prickled along my arms as I dialed the number I had memorized years ago.

He picked up on the second ring. “Miss Wolfe, I’m extremely busy. What do you want?”

I debated hanging up right away. This was a mistake that would probably haunt me forever. But when Dove leaned forward, watching me, I knew it was the only way.

“Kreos.” My voice trembled, my breath catching.

“Alora?” His tone changed immediately. “What’s wrong? Are you alright? Where are you?”

“I need you—need your help,” I whispered. Suddenly, it was all too much, and I couldn’t stop the tears.

His voice was muffled for a moment, but it sounded like he said “pull up the feed,” then a string of curses.

“I’m coming,milaya.” His usually controlled voice sounded slightly unhinged. “Ten minutes. Don’t move.” Then the line went dead.

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