Page 104 of Bloodstained Wings

She spends the next hour dancing away from me and trying to swat my hands away.

My patience is growing thin, my hunger for her even stronger, but I’m glad to see that twinkle in her eyes again. Even if I know she has an uphill battle ahead of her before she feels normal again. Despite my impatience and my exasperation, I’m determined not to make it harder.

I will not take this away from her. Isabella deserves to grieve in whatever way she sees fit.

During dinner, she sits pressed against me, her eyes darting eagerly between Sam and Tristan, who are nice enough not to comment on the food. Underneath the table, I stroke her bare skin until my hand rides up and darts between her legs. She shoots me a dirty look and presses her legs together. I smirk and try to focus on my watery soup.

A few days later, I’m still thinking of how it felt to sneak into the study downstairs and bend Isabella over my desk while Sam and Tristan waited for us in the living room. I can still taste her on my tongue and feel her body pressed against mine when Ernest pulls to a stop outside a cluster of old buildings in a run-down part of town.

I adjust the jacket over my gun and push the door open. “Let’s take care of our pest problem once and for all, shall we?”

Wordlessly, Ernesto gets out of the driver’s seat and follows me. There are broken shards of glass on the pavement and an abandoned warehouse on the opposite side of the street. I feel several pairs of eyes on us, but no one says anything when Ernesto pries the front door open, and we go in. It is pitch black, and it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust.

My fingers curl around my gun as I creep forward.

Ernesto’s loud breathing is somewhere ahead of me. He kicks the door to his right in, and we call out. When we step in, the lights flick on, and I’m blinded by the spots in my field of vision. Slowly, my vision clears and sharpens into focus. However, rather than seeing Lilian seated at a desk or on her couch in whatever scantily clad outfit she owns, I recognize a few members of the Philips family seated at the kitchen counter.

Two of them are on Lilian’s old couch, their guns pointed directly at us.

Fuck.

How the hell do Ernesto and I keep finding ourselves in these situations? And why am I not surprised that Lilian is somehow involved with my enemies?

I’ve always known she was trouble, but this might just take the cake.

I’m feeling less and less guilty about what I might have to do to shut her up.

Gerald Philips uncrosses his ankles and stands up, pushing his chair back with a screech. “I really hoped it wouldn’t come to this, Carter, but you’ve left us no choice.”

I point my gun directly at him. “I’m not surprised Lilian is working for you. What’s that saying about like calling to like? She’s a piece of shit, and so are you.”

Gerald cocks his head to the side and studies me. “You know, underneath all that anger and hostility, I know there’s a sharp mind in there.”

“You’re not my type, Philips.” I undo the safety and keep my gun aimed at the Philips family’s right-hand man. “I’d save your sad attempts at dirty talk for your whores. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it a lot more.”

Gerlad shoves his hand into the pocket of his pants. “I can see I’m going to need to spell out the math for you, Blackthorne. You’re outnumbered.”

I offer him a grim smile. “And I can see that you need a quick recap. I like my odds here.”

Especially because I know backup is on the way.

Ernesto made sure of it the second we stepped in through those doors and realized the lights were off.

Geral throws his head back and laughs. “I’ve heard you were delusional and drunk on power, but this is a lot worse than I thought. The great fucking Carter Blackthorne… It’s almost a shame to kill you.”

“I can’t say that I feel the same.” I fire my gun at one of the men in the background, and he slumps to the floor, the life immediately draining out of him. “That was a warning shot in case it wasn’t obvious. I won’t miss the next time.”

Gerald scoffs. “You’re not going to shoot me.”

I glance between his men and at Ernesto over my shoulder. Another quick look passes between us. I pretend to lower my gun and shoot Gerald in the foot. There is chaos as he yells and hops on his uninjured foot. Ernesto presses his back against mine as they try to tackle us to the ground. Between the two of us, we fight as many of them off with our bare hands.

A few of them are on the receiving end of our bullets.

More and more of them pour out, and I hear the screech of tires outside. Rich materializes in the doorway, with a swarm of men behind him. He wastes no time in picking up the nearest gun and firing it. I’m almost impressed with the way he doesn’t hesitate. Then I pause to wipe away the blood using the back of my hand. Donahue’s men aren’t as polished as I’d like, and they need to learn a thing or two about finesse, but they manage to hold their own.

Gerald is ushered away out a back door, with only two of his men to guard him.

Through the window, I see their car peel away and wait till it turns into a speck on the horizon. Once it does, I wheel around to face Rich. “We need to move quickly. How fast can you make sure your men take over the buildings they left behind?”

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