Page 43 of Dragon Strife
Digging my fingers into my sockets, I wipe away the fluid and open my eyes to see Genni hoisting herself up by grabbing the chain above the hook. She climbs the chain just enough, then holds out her hands as she plummets back to the ground with a loudthump, effectively getting herself off the hook, telling me she could’ve done that all along.
I push off the wall as she stalks toward me, her dark blue eyes narrowed and filled with hate. The last time I felt fear, my mother was being hauled into our kitchen and killed, but right now, I would say I’m apprehensive. This isn’t the sister I grew up with. It’s not even the girl who had beat her fists against Malik Charles’ back as he took her from our home. I had a glimpse of her the day she torched our bikes, but it was fleeting, and she ran like a coward afterward.
She’s no longer a coward.
Genni lifts her bound wrists, aiming for my jaw, and I fall for the feint as her foot kicks out into my solar plexus. My back bounces off the steel wall as the air escapes my lungs in a heavy breath.
I’m getting my ass handed to me by my little sister and she doesn’t let the moment go unnoticed as she says, “Losing a fight to a girl with her hands bound.”
Those hoarse, taunting words send a shot of adrenaline through me as I reach my hands forward and grab hers, yanking them up above her head. I bring our bodies flush so she can’t even think of kicking me and growl in her face. “You fucking pissed on me, you bitch!”
Her grin turns mocking just as her forehead slams into my nose, her height putting her at the perfect level. Pressure courses through my nose as blood sprays from my nostrils and the pounding pain reverberates through my head as blood coats my throat. I drop her hands to grip my face and bellow through the red haze that’s descending over my vision. I have never been so murderous in my life. I want to fucking paint these walls red with her blood.
I straighten and look at her head-on as I wipe my hand under my nose, collecting the blood and flicking it between us. Her eyes follow the movement as she takes a quick step back in disgust, making me laugh out loud. “You care about blood on your shoes, but you have no problem pissing yourself?”
“That served two purposes. Relieving my bladder and drenching you.” It’s like a flame to gasoline, her goading words, and I run at her as she bends at the knees. I don’t give pause for the slight surprise I feel as she stands her ground, the way she’d rather fight than run.
She means to sidestep me, but she does it a little too soon and her eyes widen with the realization as my arm swings out. I bowl through her midsection and throw her against the wall, the impact sounding like a loudboom.She groans as she sinks to the floor, landing on her piss-soaked knees.
“Nothing you can do to me would be any worse than what I’ve already endured, Jaeger,” she pants. “I’d love to see you try though.”
I yank her up by her hair and throw her back against the wall, only to crowd in close, the scent of ammonia thick around our heads. I breathe from my mouth just to avoid it. “You’re no longer any sister of mine,” I snarl, our lips brushing with every word spoken between us. “You’re nothing to me.”
“That’ll probably be your saving grace when it comes out that you tried to fuck your sister not too long ago. So yeah, stick with that story.” She still has the energy to fucking sass me and it pisses me off.
So I do the very thing I’ve been fantasizing about for months. I wrap my hand around her throat and squeeze. She gasps, bringing her tied hands up to wrap around my wrist, her broken nails digging into my skin, the jagged edges sending shards of pain up my arm. Her blue eyes widen as they gloss over with unshed tears, the sight doing things to me it shouldn’t.
My cock hardens as her mouth opens and shuts and I fight every muscle in my body from sinking into her and letting her feel it. It’s disgusting that I react this way to her and it makes me sick to my damn stomach. So I tighten my hold, hoping she gives in and fucking dies.
Red veins burst along her eyes, covering the whites as she slowly fades, fighting to the very end, but those blue eyes stayed trained on me, reminding me of a twin pair and making my heart jump in my chest. I release her as she crumbles to the ground, her body jerking forcibly with each wracking cough, but all I can see in my mind is our father.
The way he looked up at me as he laid on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest, the sadness seeping through his tear-soaked cheeks as I aimed my gun. I’ve done well to block it all this time, focusing instead on my mother and her unjustified death, but it’s impossible when I have his daughter here, toeing the line of death and reminding me of the decisions I’d made.
Do I want to live through the guilt of another Varga’s death on my hands?
“Don’t… stop… now,” she rasps out. “You were nearly there.” I turn on my heel and head to the door, letting her taunts wash over me. “You’re nothing but a coward, Jaeger.”
“Enjoy sitting in your own piss for hours!” I call out as I yank open the door.
I step out into the corridor as I pant for breath, my chest tight with exertion and my body tense with the need to fight. When I lick my tongue along my lips, I collect my blood and let the flavor settle in my mouth. The second I taste something bitter and a bit salty, I nearly lose the contents of my stomach. I just tasted her piss and she fucking made me bleed, and I nearly killed her for it.
Fuck, maybe she will die.
I turn and pull the key from my pocket, the metal gleaming under the fluorescents. There were only two ever made, one for the President and the other for the Vice. I’m in possession of both right now because I haven’t had the chance to give Chino his and I won’t be until he fucking mans up.
Just as the key touches the lock, I hear the basement door click open at the end of the corridor and quickly glance down at myself. There’s blood along my cut and shirt, not to mention I’m soaked in my sister’s piss. As the President, I would be ashamed to have anyone find me like this. I wouldn’t even be able to explain my appearance and scent.
I slip the key back into my pocket and hurry down to the other side of the corridor, slipping into the deep alcove. The shadows slip over me as boots hit the old stairs, the sound hurried and echoing down the narrow hallway. As soon as the footsteps land on the cement floor, the sounds stop and I press myself tighter against the wall as I hold my breath.
Eachthudof the footsteps has my skin breaking out in a sweat while my face is throbbing with pain. I want out of this basement and into my room so I can fucking shower. The sounds stop and then all the hairs on my body stand on end when I hear my best friend call out for my sister as though he’s in agony.
“Genni?” His voice hitches. “Are you in here?” He knows the room is soundproofed and there’s no way she can hear him, but the desperation in his tone makes me want to come out of hiding so I can shoot his head off. “I’m so sorry, Genni. I promise to make this up to you.” Then his footsteps are hurrying away as he runs upstairs to whoever he thinks will save the woman he’s obviously in love with.
“Fucking pussy.”
My phone keeps buzzing in my pocket, but there’s nothing I can do while my twin has the barrel of his gun pressed to my temple. I don’t doubt for one second that Malik would pull the trigger if it suited him.
“Did you just recite the Bible?” I ask once I finally register his words.
