Page 96 of Reaper & Ruin
That meant I could let loose. Have a little fun with things.
Gunshots cracked through the air. My peripheral vision caught flashes of Silver and Danika moving through the carnage like twin storms—efficient, brutal, and untouchable. I could handle a good dozen men on my own, but with the three of us?
It waslaughable. They were children trying to bait a pack of rabid wolves.
My focus shifted back to the immediate threat as a man lunged at me with a crowbar. I sidestepped, slamming my elbow into his face, shattering his nose.
He stumbled, and I finished him with a clean slice across the throat. Efficient. Calm. Just like I’d been taught.
Oh this was fun. I’d forgotten how much fun.
Perhaps I needed to find a reason to murder again. Or at least, train other people to murder. I’d enjoyed teaching Heaven some stuff, and when we got home I was going to teach her more.
I wanted to see her fight just like this.
The fight felt endless, each second stretching into an eternity. My muscles burned, and my breaths came hard and fast, but I couldn’t stop. Not until every last one of these bastards was dead. Not until I knew Heaven was safe.
As I thought of her again, I caught a glimpse of her blue hair disappearing into the kitchen, a thug hot on her heels.
Everything else faded.
The world sharpened, my senses narrowing to the singular purpose of getting to her. I surged forward, slamming my shoulder into another gangster in my path, sending him sprawling. My knife found the gut of another before I finally reached the kitchen doorway, just in time to see Heaven throwing a scalding drink at the man who had cornered her.
Pride swelled in my chest, almost enough to make me laugh as she raised my knife.
I crept up behind her, refusing to let her make herself sick. “Malyshka. Don’t get your pretty hands bloody for a thing like that.”
Her tension turned into relief as she recognized my voice, leaning back into my touch. “Atlas,” she breathed, as I gently took my knife back.
“You did so well. Exactly what I wanted you to do with something like this. And you look thoroughly delectable in my mask. It suits you.” I was so damn proud of her. Not just for coming to my rescue, but for refusing to sit there and let agangster piece of shit attack her. No, she used what she had, and she’d beaten him.
I reckoned with another year of actual training I could turn her into a monster of the best kind.
“Close your eyes.” I ordered, not wanting her to see what I did to the fool attempting to climb up from the ground.
The one I quickly ended.
“I was about to murder him so badly,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Did you see me? I was doing a Die Hard and rescuing you.”
After taking off her mask, I kissed her. Hard. Fast. Desperate to tell her how much I appreciated her without words.
“Thank you for the rescue.” I smiled when she opened her eyes. “Shall we rescue Gio too? I think he needs it.”
She nodded, taking a second to take off her excessive amount of gear so she could move freely and ‘breathe normally’.
Scooping her into my arms, I carried her out of the kitchen. Her grip on my neck was tight, but I could feel her relaxing against me, her trust in me like a steady heartbeat.
We entered the lounge just as Gio’s voice rang out. “Heather!”
He rushed over, his face smeared with blood, relief flooding his expression as he pulled her from my arms and into his own. His mouth found hers, and their kiss was full of urgency, a promise of safety in the middle of the storm.
It was so hideously sweet I was sad there were no cameras in the room to record the moment.
Then, a groan from the corner pulled our attention, and I looked up. Gio’s dad was sprawled on the floor, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face a mask of fury.
Settling Heaven gently on the ground, Gio stepped forward, his jaw set, and his eyes blazing. “Stay here,” he muttered to Heaven, brushing her hair back as he moved past her.
Giorgio stirred, laughing low and wet. “Giovanni,” he rasped, his voice thick with venom. “Still playing house with your whores, I see. Which one is yours now? Or are you not fussy about what you taint our family line with?”
