Page 110 of Tales You Win (Grim & Beast Duet 1)

Her face is a mixture of astonishment and relief as she stares at me, oblivious in the moment that her dad is dead in my arms. Her eyes brim with tears, tears that never fall as relief is quickly replaced with shock, then bewilderment as blood gurgles up Carter’s throat, spilling from his lips.

I watch in slow motion, breathing heavily from the exertion and pain as she tries to make sense of what’s happened. Her eyes widen and her body stiffens as realisation dawns.

Drawing the knife free with one hard yank, I let Carter’s body fall to the canvas with a loud thud. He falls onto his back, blood pumping from the wound and mingling with the viscous pool beneath my feet.

“Kate,” I murmur, my arms falling to my side as I drop to my knees with exhaustion right beside Carter. His sightless eyes stare up at me, and even though I know he’s dead, I need to make sure. Ripping at his shirt, I pull it open, revealing his bare flesh. Blood oozes from the wound on his chest, streaking down his skin in rivulets. Despite the leaking blood, his chest is still.

“Carter?” she whispers, her voice trembling with emotion as her gaze drops to him.

“It’s over,” I reply, looking up at her.

She’s pale, ghostly, her mouth hanging open as she blinks with confusion. “Beast?”

“It’s over,” I repeat.

Only that dark part of me, the part that is more beast than man, still needs to prove to her that I’m willing to cut the heart out ofanyman who dares hurt her, that I’m willing to do whatever the fuck it takes to protect her. So, with a bloodcurdling roar, I stab the knife through Carter’s sternum, using the serrated edge to saw through his bone. She deserves nothing less than his bloody heart, and I’m going to deliver it to her right the fuck now.

“Stop!” she shouts, her demand stilling my hand.

My head lifts, the rage I feel at the man who so easily wanted to sell his daughter making way for another emotion,empathy.

She looks broken.

Defeated in a way that guts me.

I drop my hands from the knife handle, falling back on my arse as I watch the woman I love drop to her knees. “Kate, listen,” I reach for her, but she shakes my hand away, flinching from my touch.

“Don’t!”

“Kate…” But the look she gives me quietens me faster than any weapon ever could.

“Dad?” she questions, resting the gun on the floor beside her then cupping Carter’s face. “Dad?”

Her voice is no more than a whisper as she twists his head to the side, ducking closer to him and ignoring the twelve inch knife sticking out of his brutalised chest.

“He’s dead.”

My head snaps up as I watch the King step into the cage, followed by Rodriguez and Dom. I’d almost forgotten about them. Rodriguez is uncharacteristically quiet, and Dom gives me a small nod. He’s a smart man, he knows that I would never do something like this if I didn’t have a good fucking reason for it. There will be time for an explanation, but that time isn’t now.

“You!” she hisses, grabbing the gun and getting to her feet, aiming it at the King. “This was you!”

“No, Kate,” I interrupt as I force myself to my feet, readying myself to act if the King decides to go back on his word. Fuck only knows it gets my goat backing the cunt, but this is all part of the deal I made to keep Kate safe.

“Shut the hell up, Beast!”

I want to tell Kate everything, and I will when I can ensure her safety, but right now I just need to get her through this night without starting a fucking war. Keeping Kate in the dark for a short time will protect her in the long run. It has to.

“You’d be wise to listen to your boyfriend, Grim,” the King says, unperturbed by the fact she is pointing her gun at his head.

“Trust me, Kate,” I urge, willing her to see past the carnage. To think and not act this time.

At The Crib Club I made my own deal with the King after he revealed Carter’s plans. The King had said that he’d never intended on taking Kate for his own, and whilst I didn’t believe a word of it, I was willing to suspend disbelief to get what I wanted for Kate.

Her security, her safety, and her father’s debt paid in full.

All I had to do was kill Derby and Carter.

The King would remain a silent business partner, and continue to provide fighters, taking a cut of the profits. In turn he would keep her in business under his protection, and whilst the whole part about him giving her his protection is a bitter pill to swallow, I’m man enough to know that I’m only one man, and one man does not an army make.

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