Page 34 of Fury

“Look, he needs her to do this so she can’t go screaming to the police,” he hisses.

“She’s in shock. She ain’t gonna call anyone,” I snap. “Look at her.”

“I’m following orders,” he says, holding up his hands. “Unless you wanna end up like Logan, I suggest you do the same.”

“He liked Logan,” I say, frowning deeper. “He was pissed when he got hurt and made sure we got him straight here for help.”

Chevy scoffs. “Don’t get it twisted, Fury. He don’t care about anyone . . .” He pauses to look at Xanthe. “Except her,” he says thoughtfully, “and if she doesn’t start catching feelings soon, it’ll be her you’re cutting up next.”

I wait for him to go out to the car before grabbing Xanthe by her upper arms. She startles like she wasn’t aware I was in the room. “Xanth, listen,” I say firmly, “this is really important.”

She blinks a few times and nods. “You have to help me with Logan,” I say, waiting a beat to see if she understands what I’m saying. “Dispose of him,” I add.

She tries to back away, shaking her head vigorously. “Xanth, there’s no choice. Donnie’s sent his hitman to watch us.”

“I can’t,” she says desperately. “I can’t do that.” Her eyes are wide with panic, and she’s still shaking her head.

“I can’t get us out of this, Xanthe,” I say desperately. “Chevy carries a gun, I don’t. My fists won’t protect us from him when he’s come prepared.”

“Oh my god,” she whispers. “I don’t think I can, Reese. Honestly, I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“We don’t have time to talk about it,” I snap. “He’ll be back any second.”

“You don’t understand,” she cries, now beginning to shake uncontrollably. “I can’t.”

“If you don’t, he’s going to put a bullet in you next.”

She covers her face with her hands and sobs. Hard, heavy sobs rack her body, and my heart twists painfully. “I swear, after today, you’ll never see him again. You just have to get through this.”

The front door swings open, and I instantly back away. “Are we ready?” asks Chevy.

I grab the box. “Yep,” I say, heading upstairs.

“And you,” I hear him say to Xanthe.

Upstairs, I dump the box on the floor and open it. I get out the plastic sheet and lay it beside the bed. Xanthe walks in looking pale and exhausted. Her hands are still shaking, and her eyes are red and puffy from her tears.

I take hold of Logan and roll him from the bed. He lands with a deafening thud, and Xanthe immediately slams her hands over her mouth and turns away slightly. “You’re a nurse,” says Chevy from the doorway. “You’ve seen bodies before.”

“Fuck you,” she mutters.

He grins and steps farther into the room before taking a seat in the rocking chair in the corner. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

I catch Xanthe’s eye and give my head a slight shake, warning her to ignore him. He’s trying to rile her, and I’m sure he’d lovenothing more than to end her so his boss’s attention is back to where it should be.

I hand Xanthe a set of goggles. I never use them, but I sense she might want to cover up as much as possible. I shrug from my kutte and lay it at the end of the bed before dropping to my knees beside the body and grabbing a saw. “What are you doing?” she asks, backing away until she hits the wall.

“Don’t look at it like a body,” I mutter, not meeting her eyes. I place the saw down and use a pair of scissors to cut away Logan’s shirt. “Pretend it’s a lump of meat.”

Xanthe gags, covering her mouth with her hands. “This can’t be happening.”

“Some people strip down to their underwear,” Chevy suggests with a grin. “Less mess.”

“Are you suggesting I do that?” she snaps.

He shrugs. “If you want to, that’s cool.”

“She’s not fucking stripping off,” I snap.

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