Page 8 of Merciless

More bodies falling into the hellhole.

Falling on top of me.

Burying me.

I bolt upright in bed,slapping my hand to my heart as I fight to catch my breath.

“Shit,” I rasp.

Not another goddamn nightmare.

First time it hit me was after that day I put Jackson O’Neil to ground, one of them guys on Ax’s hit list during the time a couple of years ago when he was trying to bring Roxana back into his life. The way that kill ended up was real brutal. It would’ve stuck with most people. But I ain’t most people. It should’ve never touched me like that. I shoved it down deep and all was well, until the Black Thorns clubhouse got hit. The shit Ax did to them guys on the road was hardcore. It triggered that other kill to me, then all of them, every single thing I’d ever done like that came at me.

And it’s kept coming.

It won’t stop.

It wouldn’t be so much of a problem if it was just a burden I had to carry inside, more pain to add to what’s already there. I’m used to that. I’ve breathed, lived, and bled pain all my goddamn life. It’s second nature to me. And I buried that darkness deep. But it ain’t staying on the inside no more. It’s started leaking out now. That Laughlin job was proof enough of that.

It’s impacting my work already. Who knows what else it’s gonna hit next? My family? I ain’t gonna let that happen. I gotta figure out a way through this, some way to shove all this bull down again.

Maybe, it’s just about riding it out. Maybe I gotta take a time-out, walk away from the contract stuff and all of it for a bit. Just recuperate, or some shit.

Gotta think on this hard.

Any hope of starting that right away is shot when I hear something that has my whole body going tense.

The creak of a floorboard.

Shoving the covers away, I leap out of bed, pissed that I’ve become so comfortable over the last while that I’m sleeping in just my boxers. When I went to ground, I was always on guard, always slept fully-clothed, in case this kind of thing went down.

So much for those days being over and done with.

I snatch my gun up off the bedside table as I stalk to the bedroom door.

Pressing my ear to it, I listen hard, trying to make out how close the intruder is, whereabouts in the house they’re at. Jesus, it’s ballsy of whoever it is to come after me.

Whoever’s out there is moving fast. I’m hearing them already down the second floor hallway.

That’s it. I gotta move right now.

If they get any further, before I’m out of this room, I’m gonna be a sitting duck.

Turning the doorknob slow and easy, I open it a crack, shooting a glance down the hall.

All clear.

For now.

I burst on through, my gun at the ready, spinning in a sweeping motion.

And that’s when I catch it.

A flash of movement coming right at me.

I react quick, thrusting my arm out, just in time to block an incoming blow before it slams into the side of my face.

Grabbing the asshole’s arm, I twist hard, and slam them face-first into the wall. I push all my body weight into the hold, then force the limb up their back until I hear a scream.

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