Page 31 of Along for the Ride

My brother repeats the question, but the man merely wails in response. I slam my fist against the safe and go to the bedroom to see what type of torture Karson has cooked up today. The man is in a pile on the ground, and both Achilles tendons have been severed. Karson stands over him, flipping the knife and catching the handle. The man’s hands claw forward as he struggles to drag himself toward the door, but Karson halts his progress by placing his boot on his limp foot. He looks like a cat toying with a mouse by stepping on its tail.

“What’s the safe code?” I ask again, leaning toward the man’s bruised face.

“Fuck you,” he snarls.

I bring my foot down on his hand, grinding the heel of my boot until I hear the satisfying cracks. He screams as his only remaining useful limb paws at my leg.

“Goddamn it!” he squeals. “Your boss knows why I did what I did. He acts like he wouldn’t do what he could to keep his ass out of prison too!”

“It doesn’t matter what our boss would or wouldn’t do because he’s not the one who was dumb enough to get caught,” I say. “Now, what’s the code to your fucking safe?”

His wide eyes rise to mine with a ridiculous amount of defiance for a man in this predicament. “You’re going to kill me anyway. Why would I give you anything more than my fucking life?”

Karson leaps onto the man’s back and straddles him. He grips a fistful of hair and pulls back his head. “Because if you tell us, I’ll leave you looking goodenoughthat your family can have an open casket at your service. Don’t you want them to see this ugly mug one last time?” he asks through a laugh.

The man strains to hold himself up with his good hand. “I’m not...giving...you anything,” he grinds out.

“Alright,” Karson says with a sweet lilt to his words.

Which means he’s going to—

A visceral scream cuts the air as Karson puts the knife to the man’s cheek and skins him from his mouth to his eye. The flap comes off with a squelch, and he holds it in front of him. Red, raw muscle glistens beneath his eye socket, and I’ll admit it brings back good memories.

The man pants out the code, and I have to give it to Karson. He has a way with these idiots.

“See how easy that was?” Karson asks. He balls up the flap of skin and shoves it into the man’s mouth.

I turn to leave but the rip of flesh behind me stops my feet from moving. When I face them again, I find that Karson has slit his throat. “Goddamn it, Karson! Let me try the fucking code first!”

“You don’t have to yell,” he says, but he uses the gaping neck like a puppet as he speaks. The gasping, gurgling man doesn’t have long, and that’s a mercy I’m surprised Karson afforded him.

All in all, the hit has gone well. And I didn’t even have to make good on my promise to Karson.

* * *

Leana

I should have stayedin the car. When I heard the screams as I approached the house, I regretted my decision to be a nosy bitch, but I still crept closer. Now I’m inside the house. I’m almost certain they’ve murdered someone, but I can’t stop my feet from taking me toward the source of those screams.

I reach the doorway, and my wide eyes lock on Karson as he releases a man’s head and it thumps to the ground. A greedy excitement casts a shadow over his eyes, and the snarl of his lip freezes my soul. The mutilated body doesn’t affect me. The blood doesn’t bother me. But that look on Karson’s face when he sees me is enough to make me regret my curiosity.

“I told you she wouldn’t stay in the car,” Karson says to Gentry as he rises to his feet. He doesn’t seem angry, which unsettles me. He should be pissed, but he seems almost happy that I’ve fucked up so royally. He licks up the length of the blade and turns his attention back to me. “Now the fun can really begin.”

Gentry curses under his breath. “Run!” he says as Karson rushes for me.

My heart thumps a painful rhythm against my chest as I rip open the front door and take off into the night. My head whips from side to side as I try to gather the lay of the land, but aside from the woods, I see nowhere to run.

“Little thief?” Karson’s voice calls behind me. The high, taunting sound breaks through my fear and spurs me forward.

My feet stomp with a muted thud across the grass until I reach the edge of the forest. Running over twigs and leaf litter will be anything but quiet, but I don’t have another choice. Branches whip at my face, sides, and ankles. I risk a glance over my shoulder, and my heart stops beating when my eyes land on the ominous black shadow on my heels. He almost dances as he pursues me, as if this is all one big game to him. My near-exploding heart doesn’t think it’s a game.

The toe of my shoe snags on a root snaking across the path, and I fly forward. As the ground comes toward me, I push my arms forward and bear the brunt of the impact in my wrists. I try to kick off the ground, digging the toes of my shoes into the earth to gain traction, but arms wrap around me before I can find my feet.

Karson has me.

He’s over me, pressing his weight into me. No matter how much I flail, I can’t move him. My lungs beg for air, but I can’t draw a full breath beneath him. I’m drowning.

“Naughty little thief,” he whispers near my ear. “When we say stay in the car, it’s because we’re doing something you can’t unsee. You’ve always been a liability, but now you’re a goddamn threat. Do you know what that means?”

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