Page 97 of Bad Seed
“I didn’t. I swear. They must have—”
Mike lunges for his gun and everything happens at once. A fist smashes through Bradly’s nose, shattering what was already bruised. A leg kicks out, hitting the wiry one in the nuts and doubling him over. I blink, certain there was no way a man could fit under that dinner plate-sized dome.
Then he stands.
Aubry?
The face is gnarled like a tiger in a rampaging bloodlust, but that nose—even when it’s strained for oxygen, those lips—even when pulled up in a snarl, and those eyes—even when dark as death, are the same ones I woke up beside. It’s Aubry. And he’s naked. Cock and balls swing without a care as he pounds his fist into Bradly’s face over and over turning the man into meat.
Oh, shit!
“Look out!” I shout and dive forward. Mike’s dragging his gun around, trying to get a shot, paying no attention to me. I plummet onto him, elbows out to smash into his shoulders.
My hope was to shove him to the ground, but he keeps his stance. I’m left hanging off of him like a backpack, arms flailing to knock the gun out. “Get the fuck off of me!” he shouts, one hand shoving into my forehead, the other trying to keep his gun.
A long, exhausting, famished night pumps adrenaline through my body. With no thought, I lunge forward and bite the back of his neck. Hard.
“Aah!” he screams, spinning around to get at me. In his haste, he smashes into the chair and we both fall. My hip and shoulder plunge through the wooden chair, shattering it. My vision jumps to white, and I moan at the pain throbbing up my whole side.
“Fucking fuckers!” I shout. Can I feel my toes? I can’t feel my toes!
Oh, wait. There they are and…
Mike rebounds onto his knees. He swings the gun up, aimed at me. “You fucking bi—”
Fingers tears through his hair, wrenching his head back. He blinks for a moment then groans, “Talong.”
“Mike,” Aubry says and pounds his fists into Mike’s face. Teeth rattle across the floor, but Aubry won’t stop. The gun tumbles from Mike’s finger, his head listing to the side. I scramble across the floor, chasing after it.
The warmth shocks me so much I nearly drop the gun. Which is when Aubry finishes smashing the shit out of Mike.
“Sadhvi?” he whispers, his shoulders heaving with the whole world.
I just watched him beat three men to near death while naked. And he came from nowhere. How? What the hell’s going on?
I need answers.
I deserve them!
My grip slackens and the gun flips around my finger. “Aubry…” I fall into his arms.
Familiar, safe. They close around me, promising to protect me. My instinct is to bury my face in his chest, but he pulls me away to scrutinize me. “Did they hurt you?” he damn near growls, looking about to eviscerate the men who are barely breathing.
“No,” I try assure him, but he looks like he’s mid-rampage and not about to give up now. “I want to go home.”
That pathetic plea is enough to puncture through. Holding my head in both hands, he wipes my cheeks with his thumbs and promises, “Okay. Let’s get out of here.”
Aubry lifts me to my feet. I wobble but balance myself by pressing the gun to his naked arm. He reaches for the weapon when a loud grunt catches my ear. The wiry one, the one with dark-hair who was going to rape me, crawls across the floor. He’s reaching for the phone to call for help.
Anger boils over inside of me.
I swivel the gun around, hunting for a target. The man pulls the phone down off the table. It hits him in the face, and he starts to dial.
Boom!
The phone explodes, burnt plastic and metal smashing into his face. He screams but I can’t hear him over the pounding in my ears.
“Nice shot,” Aubry shouts, then he picks me up off my feet and into his arms.
