Page 2 of Breathe
“You think raping little girls is nothing?” Real growled right next to the man’s ear.
“Theywantedit,” Barton sneered, the ugly words ringing through the air.
The comment had Winter slamming the guy into the side of the SUV again.
Barton’s head bounced like a basketball, but he managed to stay on his feet and lean against the metal side.
Real was past the stage of beating the guy up. He pulled out his blade and cut the zip-ties from around the guy’s wrists before stepping back a few feet.
“There’s a lot of people I hate in this world, but I hate child rapists and killers the most,” Winter said, stepping in ready to beat the fuck out of the asshole.
Barton suddenly spun and threw a punch in Winter’s direction. It never landed because Winter was on the move and he was fucking fast. Winter delivered a kidney punch that had Barton doubling over.
Real placed a hand on Winter’s shoulder to keep him still and gave a slight shake of his head. Winter drew in a deep breath and settled down like a coiled cobra at his side.
Real leveled his gaze on Barton.
“Run,” he said, the one word came out guttural and soft.
Barton lost his sneering scowl, and his throat bobbed with a hard swallow. The guy shook his head and plastered his back to the frame of the vehicle, as if that would save him.
Real caught the man by the throat and tossed him away from the SUV like a fucking toy. Barton scrambled to his hands and knees on the asphalt.
Real lightly juggled the knife in his hand. It was broad daylight in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona, but he didn’t give a shit. Most of the cars parked at the civic center were not in this lot. This section was deserted of people with only a few cars around, hence the reason he’d parked there.
Barton must have thought his chances to get away were good and sprinted toward the trees before stumbling down the small gulley.
“You’re just going to let him get away?” Winter looked pissed.
Real drew out his cell phone and pulled up an app. He showed the red blinking dot on the screen to Winter, who laughed.
What Barton didn’t know was Real had planted a small tracking device on the man’s clothing.
Now, they could bide their time.
Sometimes the hunt was the best part.
And that was exactly what they did.
That night, Real and Winter caught Barton just as he was leaving a hole-in-the-wall dive bar on the outskirts of the city.
And there in the dark, Real made it hurt.
They didn’t call the cleaners to the scene because they wanted the FBI to close this case. The families of the young girls needed closure, they needed to know Barton was dead.
Real sheathed his knife and disappeared from the area along with Winter.
“What are you up to the rest of this week?” Real asked when they reached his SUV parked several blocks away.
“I’ve got a date on Friday, remember?”
Real went very still.
“You touch him and you’re a dead man, remember that,” Real said.
“Oh, I will.” Something gleamed in Winter’s eyes.
And Real had the sudden urge to strangle Winter.
