Page 25 of Degrading Her

“You think you’ve got this fight in you, but in the end, you’ll fail, Fiona. And Iwillwin.”

I told myself that everything he said was part of his game, that I couldn’t let him get to me. He was a cocky bastard, and yes, he had probably earned that attitude from his success. But I was going to play as hard as he did.

“I don’t fail, Mr. Feldman,” I said. “I adapt.”

Chapter 6

Sawyer

In the morning,I slid open the door to the Dairy Barn, finding my brother, Wilder, and his second-in-command, Kyle, dressed in black, their clothes dampened with blots of liquid. Two bodies laid on the floor, one of which was in several large chunks. And in the last pen, a handcuffed man knelt to the side.

“Saved him for you,” Kyle said.

Always thoughtful.

“The Kingstons’ contract is secured,” I said.

“We heard.”

“Hatchcom Focus is threatening law enforcement,” Wilder said.

We had a few contacts within the police department that used our services in exchange for their cooperation. They wouldn’t dare get involved.

“Let them,” I said. I made eye contact with my brother. “But I needyouspecifically on the Kingstons’ livestock orders until we get rid of Hatchcom Focus.”

“You got the Kingstons from Hatchcom Focus, then?” Kyle asked.

I grinned. Yes, I had stolen one of their biggest contracts. All it took was a little flattery and manipulation.

“I warned Roth what would happen,” I said.

Turning toward the pens, my eyes fell on the kneeling livestock order. He was tall, like me, but I was pure, fit muscle.

“And this one is from Tuddle?” I asked.

Kyle nodded. Tuddle wasn’t a big player, but our clients came from different backgrounds; we took smaller clients as long as they were willing to pay our standard fees. If I was personally interested in a case, I even considered giving a discount. But people were always desperate to seek our services; they always paid full price. In return, we didn’t ask questions, and sent our hunters to gather the livestock orders—the targets. Then, our ranchers took care of the torture and murder while each death was filmed for the client. Even the small ones, like Tuddle.

I quickly changed into the black uniform, then grabbed the machete out of the cabinet and made sure the cameras were rolling.

Hands bound behind his back.

That wouldn’t do.

I grabbed the dice from my pocket. Even, and he would get his hands back. Odd, and he would remain bound.

Even.

I unlocked his handcuffs, then put the machete between us, using my eyes to guide his gaze toward the blade. As soon as he moved, I raced forward, punching him in the face. He reached for the blade and I threw an elbow into his head, knocking him back to his knees. He swung his hands at my legs, making me stumble, but Igrabbed the knife off of the floor, bringing it to the back of his neck.

One hack, then another. And another.

Done.

The blood soaked through my gloves. I squished the material between my fingers, then switched off the cameras. The hacked-up body was almost completely in the incinerator, but the other corpse lay on the floor. Once I had finished cutting Tuddle’s livestock order into manageable chunks, I transferred him to the incinerator too. Kyle scraped a shovel against the floor, scooping up the last remains, and my brother was at the side of the incinerator, analyzing the different temperature settings.

Going back to the pens, I examined the final body. A hand reached out and grabbed my leg. Immediately, I stomped my foot down onto his head, crushing through until it was flattened.

I cursed to myself. Wilder glanced over, but Kyle turned away.

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