Page 19 of Redd

I reacted, I didn't think about what I was doing, or who I was doing it to. I just did what came natural. I protected her, I protected myself.

Ducking out of the way, I twisted on my feet and grabbed the back of his neck. Driving him head first into the beam of the doorway, he dropped to the ground like dead weight.

I heard his neck crack, I heard the bones as they snapped and crackled as his skull connected with the hard wood.

He groaned in pain, reaching slowly around his back as he tried to roll over. The shiny metal caught my eye, as he tugged a gun from his back pocket and tried to lift it.

Kicking it from his hand, it slid across the floor and stopped just before the girl's naked toes. Dominick's mouth opened wide, his voice scratchy and soft as he tried to yell to Val for help.

Instinct kicked in, taking over and controlling my hands. Dropping onto his chest, I straddled his ribs, curling my bare hands around his thick neck.

I squeezed; I squeezed so he couldn't yell, I squeezed so he wouldn't draw attention, I squeezed so I didn't have to hear his voice if he tried to beg me for mercy.

Because I had no mercy to give.

There was a defenseless girl locked in a closet, there was a human being trapped like a caged animal in this home. And I knew in my heart that these two men were well aware of it.

It was sick, it was harsh and unforgiving.

He would have killed me right there if he had the chance. I was taking his opportunity and making it mine.

Dominick was on the ground, his face a multitude of different shades of purple. There was no air going in, and none coming out. His body gave one last violent twitch, and I knew it was over. I had seen it before only once. It was the death twitch.

I killed him.

That was not the first time I had ever killed a man. But it was the first time I had ever used my hands, it was the only time I felt the life as it drained out, and stared into the eyes of a dying man, wondering what the hell I was doing.

I hadn't questioned my choice to kill before.

That was my reality now, the touch of death had tainted my skin. I won't say I didn't feel something while his pupils dilated and his lips swelled up turning blue. . . But what I felt wasn't good, it wasn't relief, or regret, or even the slightest hint of sorrow for whatever family this man might have had.

All I felt was a rush of adrenaline and the surge of power.

“Come on, we got to go now.” Lunging into the closet, I snatched the gun off the floor and tucked it into my jeans. Holding out my hand, I wriggled my fingers, reaching for her.

The girl stared at Dominick's body on the floor, her eyes gaping and glossy as tears bubbled over the surface.

“I'm not going to hurt you, come on, take my hand.”

Flicking her eyes up to mine, she stretched out her arm, her fingertips shaking violently. Once I felt the first sensation of her hand on mine, I gripped her with all the strength I had and pulled her to her feet.

She was so thin, like she had been basically starved, only given the bare minimum so she was still alive. Her cheeks were sunken in, deep purple bags puffed up underneath her eyes. The poor girl was barely flesh and bone.

I could see bruising on one of her cheeks and a large gash that was healing at the crest of her chin. And instantly I felt for her. Looking at her brought back old memories, memories of a past I didn't want, images of a life I wanted to forget.

My heart crunched with tangy bits of anger and rage, it swelled with sympathy for what she had been put through and the pain she had endured.

“Can you walk?” I asked, curling my hand around her thin wrist. She still wouldn't utter a word, barely nodding her head yes. “Okay, come on.”

Starting back towards the kitchen, our feet were soundless on the floor. I wanted to run like the wind and get the hell out of there, but I didn't want to draw any attention to us.

I kept my body in front of hers, hoping she was hidden from view. If Val was nearby, if he came around the corner and saw me, I didn't know what his reaction would be.

If I had to fear either of the men, he was the one. With dead eyes and an emotionless voice, Val probably wouldn't think twice about cutting out my vocal cords.

I don't care about me, it's her that I'm protecting.

The girl's hand shook inside mine, the tremble intense, like an electric shock that had passed between us. She was petrified, like a mouse trapped in a maze, while a hungry cat was out on the loose, stalking from inside.

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