Page 95 of Red Rabbit
“Does he know?” Cooper gasped out around North’s hand around his throat. “Does he know how much you paid for her?”
I was on my feet and now my eyebrows raised as I looked over at North.
“You’re Kraven?” North nodded at me and I shook my head in disbelief. “She told me about you—said I shouldn’t kill you if I ever saw you.”
That got a chuckle out of him. “Glad to hear it. She got your email by the way—said to tell you hi.”
“Ah, so that’s how you found me,” I mused. It all made sense now.
“Thought I’d come along for the fun, make sure the problem was taken care of personally,” he said, looking back at Cooper he tightened his grip. “Did you know your boy here tried to kidnap her a few weeks ago?”
“Did he now?” I said, anger burning hot and fast through me as I turned my attention back to Cooper.
“That was you?” Cooper sputtered, looking at North. He was watching the exchange with disbelief and irritation but now dark anger sparked in his eyes.
“Fucker…” he muttered. “I would have had her if it wasn’t for you coming to her rescue.”
North’s fist slammed into his head in anger and North let him fall. Cooper slid down and away, stumbling across the broken glass and lab instruments.
“Did I ever tell you how good she felt when I would use the collar on her as I was fu—” This time I got to him first and kicked him in the gut, sending him a few feet away. He grasped the edge of a table and pulled himself around, putting the table between us as he got to his feet, his mouth turned into a bloody, crazed smile.
“She always cried and begged me to stop—” I jumped the table and landed on him, taking us both to the ground. The blood roared in my ears as my rage took over. We grappled across the floor before Cooper threw a chair at me and I went down.Getting to my feet, I watched North advance in a blur but Cooper was ready and slashed out with a piece of glass. It caught North in the face, slicing temple to jaw and just missing his eye, then they crashed to the ground. I ran around the table but North had Cooper under control and was slamming his fist into his face repeatedly until Cooper threw glass shards at him and North stumbled off of him.
Cooper scrambled backwards, laughing, a hysterical sound of someone close to madness. Every time he inhaled his breath rattled and wheezed in his chest.
“I love how the two of you are here because some whore got your dicks wet and not because of my little science project.”
North looked absolutely feral with blood pouring from his face and a lethal look in his eyes as he advanced on Cooper again after getting to his feet.
I got there first and hauled Cooper to his knees by the front of his shirt.
“You gonna kill me, Wolfman?” He hissed, a challenge in his eyes. “After everything we’ve been through? After everything I did for you?” His voice rose at the end.
“We’re even now, Coop, remember?” I ground out. I didn’t want to think about the past but it was all I could see when I looked at him.
North came up and handed me a gun.
“Any last words?” I asked. I shoved him away and pointed it at his head.
Cooper wavered on his knees and I saw the moment the fight left him and I knew it was over. He shook his head sadly.
“You remember what it was like don’t you? They broke us out there Wolfe—with finesse and precision they broke us.” His voice caught and his eyes flashed with rage. “How could you not want to create something that stops that from happening? You remember finding Trav—”
“Don’t fucking say his name,” I snarled, taking a step towards him.
“He was my friend too!” Cooper shouted, then I heard Cal in my ear.
“Quit playing with your dicks and get out of there,” Cal said over comms. “Deathwing is ready.”
“Copy,” North said.
“You can’t play god, Coop,” I snapped.
“Someone has to,” he growled. “Because there was no god out there to save us.”
“I don’t think he’s going to save you now either,” North said dryly. Cooper laughed, a harsh ugly sound.
“I’ll see you both in hell.”
