Page 52 of Toxic

Despite this guy being willing to spill what he knew, it wasn’t going to work. Even if I wanted to let him go—which I didn’t—Butcher had gotten a taste of blood. He wouldn’t be able to stop until this guy was dead. The crunching and slurping of the pigs eating this guy’s friend would probably be disturbing when I remembered it later, but for now, I was in a haze of feral rage. Nothing was too horrific for these men. Not after what they were trying to do. Because I knew it wouldn’t stop there.

Billie would have seen the smoke and run out to the barn, desperate to save her animals. And there were only two possibilities of what they would do to her from there. Neither was acceptable and both options made me want to revive the dead guy so that I could murder him all over again.

The guy babbled out the address without us having to ask. I pulled out my phone and typed it down. As soon as I was done, I nodded at Butcher. As much as I wanted to kill this fucker myself, I knew how to share and Butcher would be a nightmare to deal with after this if I didn’t let him get some killing in.

Butcher stabbed the man again, this time in the gut. He pulled on the handle but he seemed to have gotten the forks stuck, probably under the lower ribs. The man was howling.

“What? Why? I told you everything!”

I looked at him, meeting his gaze. I knew he was seeing an emptiness in my eyes. Realization dawned in his own eyes. He now knew he was never making it out of here alive. “You were going to burn my woman’s barn down and terrorize her. What the fuck made you think you were going to live?” I picked up a torn piece of fabric from his companion’s pants and shoved it into his mouth, far enough that he nearly gagged. Billie was inside the house. I didn’t want her hearing this. She didn’t need to see the lengths I was willing to go to keep her safe. Not yet. Last thing I needed was to scare her away. A woman needed to be eased into this level of love.

“Gimme a hand with this would you?” Butcher asked, tugging at the pitchfork.

“Seriously?” I grabbed the handle and gave it a tug. “Oh what the fuck? How did you get it this stuck?” I planted my boot on the man’s chest to get the leverage I’d need as I yanked backward.

“Try wiggling it up and down.” We were both pulling, and moving the handle up and down and now left and right. The man’s screams were just a pitiful muffled squeak.

“There!” I said as it came out with a squelch.

I was surprised, he should have passed out from the pain, but somehow was still conscious. Which was good, I wanted him awake for the next part.

“Oh look, the pigs are almost done with your friend. And they’re not alone,” I taunted. The chickens were starting to wander into the pen now. I looked at Butcher. “Most people don’t realize this, but chickens are every bit as nasty as pigs. They eat meat too, and they don’t care if that meat’s alive so long as it doesn’t put up much of a fight.”

One of the pigs wandered over to the man and started licking at the blood on his stomach. “He likes the way you taste,” Butcher chuckled at the man. “There’s gotta be a joke in there somewhere right? Like, do we taste like bacon to pigs? No wait, I got it, tastes like chicken!”

I chuckled, not because he was funny, but because he made an honest attempt at humor, almost like a real boy. Either blood loss or the pigs were going to finish this creep off. If he was lucky he’d pass out before the pigs started eating him. I didn’t give a shit either way. “Let’s go move the gas soaked bales. Get them out of here before something sparks. With any luck only the top bales will be soaked. The bottom bales might be clean and usable.”

I planned to tell Billie about this…eventually. But if I needed to put in a new order of hay, then I was going to have to admit what happened a lot faster than I was expecting. “If it comes down to it, I might need to say you spilled gas in the barn—don’t look at me that way, just take the blame on this if I need you to.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s fine. I haven’t ever seen a pig eat a man that was still alive. Or chickens. Makes it worth it.”

“Deal. But come give me a hand once you’re done,” I told him. “Don’t fuck around and leave me to do all the work, Butcher.”

He waved a hand my way, giving what was happening in the pig pen his rapt attention.

CHAPTER 19

Billie

Ifrowned and folded one of Gramps’s shirts as he continued pulling clothes from his dresser and closet. Sitting on his bed, I continued packing his suitcase. “I know you have to go, but I’m going to miss you.”

I was willing to do what I had to in order to protect my ranch and myself, but the idea of someone catching Grandpa unaware again worried me. Sending him away was logical, even if I didn’t want to do it.

He sighed. “It’s killing me to be leaving right now, Billie Girl, but I’m no help to you here. In fact, I’ll be nothing but a hindrance. Besides, my brother really could use the help for a couple months after his surgery.”

He was trying to talk himself into this trip because he didn’t want to abandon me. As much as I was going to miss him, I wanted him to go. I was going to all but shove him out the door. It was just safer for him that way.

Gramps’s brother Ned was only six years younger, but was only days away from a full knee replacement. The plan had always been for Gramps to go and help him during recovery.You do for family.It was our family motto.

I was glad he was going to be over in Ohio for two to three months. After the beating he took, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving him alone again and unfortunately this ranch was a lot of work. I loved him too much to lose him. He was all I had left. Him and this ranch. If this company took them both from me? I wasn’t sure what I’d do.

Shaking off the fear that crept in when I thought about something else happening to Gramps, I folded more shirts and placed them in his suitcase in an orderly fashion. “You’re going to have fun once Ned is feeling better. You probably won’t want to come home.”

Gramps let out a derisive snort. “He’ll be trying to kick me out two days after I get there. Just you wait and see.” He sat on the bed next to me and frowned. “I shouldn’t go.”

“Gramps,” I said, “you have to. He needs your help.”

And I need you safe.

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