Page 2 of Resurrecting the Enemy
Iraced through the cluster of trees and let my ears lead the way. The poor sucker unfortunate enough to get caught in my crosshairs wasn’t doing anything to minimize the sounds of their escape, and that told me they were running for a reason. And that reason was seeing something they shouldn’t have.
Now, was I worried? No. I had no doubt I’d catch them, whoever they were, and I had no doubt I’d be able to erase whatever theythoughtthey saw from their memory.
That was one of the things about being raised inside a powerful family; there wasn’t much I feared. I had a father who was a psychopath, and he had dirt on the entire city of Sands Coveandmost every person who has ever crossed his path in the past twenty years. I also had a mother who supported his psychopathy one hundred percent.
So, did I fear the consequences of killing Ashton Childress? No. First, there’s no way I’d get caught, as cocky as that sounded. You’d think with DNA, cameras, and motive I’d have some worries, but I didn’t. Because, even if I did fuck up somehow, my father would move Heaven and Hell to clear my name. While my father was a ruthless individual, one thing that man didn’t tolerate? My mother being unhappy overanything.And her eldest son in prison for life would definitely make her unhappy, even if she did still have Maddox.
The sounds were getting louder and that just meant I was getting closer. And just as I cut through a couple of Cottonwoods, I saw a figure in all black running as fast as they could. Even from the distance and through the exertion, I could see that the person was a lot smaller than I was. Maddox and I both took after our father in build and that put me at six-foot-two and Mad at six-foot-one.
Kicking up my speed a notch, I quickly caught up to my second victim of the night. And just as they were about to hit a clearing, I reached out, grabbed the hood of their sweatshirt, and pulled them back. I could hear the swoosh of breath as their body collided with mine, but the impact was minimal on my part. I’d barely felt a thing.
And like a true cornered animal, they had started a full-on attack to escape. But being much taller and bigger, I had them slammed up against the nearest tree in seconds. The impact left them breathless, and it left me easy access to pin them against the tree.
By their throat.
I pulled the hood down as their head snapped up, and, suddenly, they weren’t the only one who was breathless.
Almost an entire foot shorter than me, bright blue eyes stared up at me in horror and shock. As dark as it was, I could still make out dark brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. And there were no bangs to distract from those startling fucking blue eyes of hers.
Her brows were arched like they came with attitude, and she had a petite nose, soft cheekbones, and a pair of pink lips that should be outlawed. Especially now, with the way they were opened, pants of mint-scented breaths coming out in a rapid tattoo.
She was fucking beautiful.
Beautiful, and not in that Windsor Academy kind of way. The way where, if you weren’t born with it naturally, you bought it at the most expensive price. The way where, if you weren’t contoured to perfection, you didn’t stand a chance of being part of the popular crowd. The way where, if you didn’t have the right pedigree, you didn’t belong.
She was dressed as if she were going to commit a diamond heist, with her black hoodie, black jeans, and black shoes, but the one thing that stood out more than her get-up was the fucking camera that was hanging from her neck.
I tightened the hand around her neck, the one that held her captive against the tree, while the other one latched onto her hip, digging in.
She whimpered, and my fucking dick got hard.
“Are you lost?” I growled down at her. Her eyes widened further, and she started shaking her head back and forth. “What did you see? And don’t fucking lie to me.”
“I…I didn’t see anything,” she said, lying to my face, her voice going straight to my dick.
I looked down at her chest, and though the hoodie she was wearing was baggy as fuck, the heaving of her chest, and the rise of the camera with each of those breaths, told me she had to have an impressive rack hidden underneath her clothes. And as enticing as my dick thought that was, I was more interested in the camera at the moment.
I let go of her neck, traces of Childress’ blood now on her skin, but still kept her pinned by her hip as I reached for the camera to remove it from her neck. Even if I hadn’t killed Childress, I didn’t need pictures of me beating him stupid to exist anywhere.
When I went to pull it up and over her head, the little hellcat went to fighting again. “What are you doing? That’s mine!”
I let go of the camera and grabbed her by the neck again. Only, this time, I pressed my hips against hers, holding her captive with my entire body. Her eyes flared, but she still looked mutinous.
I was going to get the camera, there was no doubt, but I decided to give her a fighting chance. “What’s your name?” She remained stubbornly quiet, so I decided to hit her with some truth. “Look, if you have any hope of making it out of here unscathed, you better start answering my questions, Thomas Blood.” She immediately looked confused, and it was obvious she had no clue who Thomas Blood was. I guess the curriculum at Windsorwasbetter than public school.
“I already answered your question,” she fired back. “I didn’t see anything.”
“Let’s forget that you’re lying for a second, and tell me your fucking name,” I demanded, glowering down at her. When she didn’t answer fast enough, I said, “Better yet, how about I tell you whoIam.”
She surprised me by saying, “I already know who you are.”
I leaned down further into her personal space. “Then you know I’m not one to fuck around.”
“I didn’t see anything!” she yelled in my face.
“Then let me see that damn camera!” I roared back in hers.
We stared at each other, a mental game of chicken, when she finally let out a deep breath, and said, “Fine.” The word came out like she’d been chewing on shards of glass, and I knew it was killing her to give in.
