Page 176 of Vicious Hearts

“I love you,” I murmur quietly to her, our eyes locked. She sobs, wrenching and choking as the tears wrack her body and flow hot and fast down her cheeks.

My gaze moves to Ares, and stays there.

This is a very bad idea. There are a million ways it could go terribly, terribly wrong. But I am not watching any of them die.

“Three, Cillian.”

I heft the knife in my hand, testing its weight, bringing the blade to my bare throat.

Gail grins maniacally.

“Seamus taught you well, Gail.”

She beams, her eyes shining with glee and pride and twisted love.

“You missed something, though.”

I start to grin like the fucking psychopath that I am.

“You’re trying to fight crazy with thewrong. Fucking. Crazy person.”

In one motion, I whip the knife back and throw it.

…Right at Ares.

He roars as it sinks blade-first into his thigh, blood spurting out. Neve screams into her gag, kicking and thrashing on the ground as Ares writhes in agony.

Gail turns white.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

She whirls back to me, looking like she’s about to explode. Neve is still screaming and sobbing.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU—”

“That,” I hiss savagely, “is his femoral artery. You want a goddamn blood sacrifice to bring Seamus’ rotten fucking corpse back to life?!” I snarl. “Well, your sacrifice has about a minute before he bleeds out every drop of that blood you need.”

Gail starts to hyperventilate. Her eyes are darting all over the place, staring at me, at the dead body on the wall behind her, at Ares, at Una, Neve, back to me. Her shoulders start to heave.

“You—you—you…!”

“Psychopath,” I hiss. “That’s the word you’re looking for. And you’ve got about forty-five seconds, Gail.”

My eyes drop to the little first aid kit on the table.

“Throw that over here!!” she screeches at me.

“Oh,this?”

I smile darkly, lifting it gently. “This one?”

“NOW, asshole!!” Gail screams, shoving the gun against Una’s head.

“No problem,” I shrug, tossing it across the room where it lands at Ares’ feet. “There you go.”

Gail stiffens, her face white as she looks between me and the first aid kit ten feet away from her with Ares’ blood dripping all over it as he writhes and groans.

I can see the wheels turning in her sick mind. She’ll have to move the gun away from Una to get it.

---