Page 26 of Mountain Daddy

It’s not.

No.

It’s something worse.

He pulls out brass knuckles.

This isn't the man who made love to me. Who whispered my name like a prayer. Who held me afterward like I was something precious.

This is a monster.

Nikolai slides the brass knuckles over his fingers like he’s enjoying this. The man on the ground scrambles backward, dragging a streak of blood across the concrete.

“Please,” the man begs. “I don't know anything about?—”

The brass knuckles connect with his jaw. His head snaps back with a wet crack.

I can't move.

Can't breathe.

Can't look away.

Nikolai’s not wild. He’s surgical. He doesn’t snarl. Doesn’t shout. He simply dismantles the man till he stops making sounds.

Nikolai stops. Checks his watch.

Like he has somewhere else to be.

Like he didn't just beat a man unconscious.

That's when he turns and sees me.

Our eyes lock across the dark street, and everything inside me turns to ice. He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t look surprised.

No guilt.No shame.

Just calm,steady… like it doesn’t matter what I saw.

I should run. Shit. I should get the hell out of here. Head back to the club. To my car. To safety.

Away from this man who casually destroyed another human being.

But my feet won't move.

Nikolai walks toward me. Unhurried. Confident. Like he knows I won't run.

I’m afraid he's right.

“Lilly.”

“Is he dead?” The words come out as a whisper.

Nikolai stops in front of me. Tilts his head like he’s trying not to laugh. “No.”

“Will he be?”

“Anyone could die anytime.”

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