Page 118 of Panther's Magpie
“Stop that. You came for me, so I came for you.”
I step forward, making Asher straighten up.
“Why did you bring her here? She doesn’t need to see this,” he tells me.
A moan from the chair beside him has me narrowing my eyes. “You don’t get to make noises, traitor. I’ll deal with you next.”
The guy looks away, trying to keep his moans to himself. It looks like the guys have already beat him to a pulp.
Asher is relatively unharmed, letting me know they weren’t sure what to do with him.
“Aspen, you’ve seen him. I need you to go now.”
She falls to her knees, putting her head on his knees. “No. I don’t want you to hurt him.”
I roll my eyes. “Always so dramatic. I’m going to have a talk with him, and if he agrees to forget anything he saw, he will be let go.”
“I don’t believe you,” she spits at me.
“It’s the truth. He helped save you, so if he is willing to keep his trap shut, his life is his. I don’t kill people for no reason, Aspen.”
“You kill them, though. Asher is a good man.”
“I’m sure he is, and he will agree to keep his mouth shut, but we need to talk about a few things first.”
“Aspen,” he mutters. “Go. Please.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You have to,” he urges her. “I did what I did because it was the right thing. I don’t deserve your devotion. You need to go.”
“So what we went through meant nothing to you?” she asks, hurt lacing her voice.
“It was a job.”
She winces, her eyes tearing up. “Fine. I’ll go then.”
I listen as she runs out of there, the door slamming in her wake.
I walk over to Asher, punching him in the face. “That’s for hurting her,” I tell him.
“I did what I had to. She wouldn’t have left otherwise.”
I nod. “Probably not. I meant what I said. I’m letting you go, but after you do me a favor.”
“What is that?”
I nod to the man next to him. “He betrayed me and got someone I love hurt. I want you to teach him a lesson.”
Asher pauses a moment before he nods. “Done. You’ll leave me and my sister alone?”
“Your sister was never on the table, bro. We will leave you alone as well as long as you keep your mouth shut.”
“Not a problem there. Untie me.”
I do as he asks, watching him. He rubs his wrists before going to the other man. He starts off slow with some punches. I can see the anger slowly building.
I see the moment he loses control. The animal inside of him comes out. Like an alpha wolf protecting his pack.
