Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“Does that hurt?” I asked, my anger reaching an all-time high. Hatred burned in my veins as I stared at him. He’d touched Sofia. Kidnapped her. Slapped her. Threatened her life. He would pay for those transgressions before he died.
And neither Marcus nor Damien would stop me.
“Yes,” he snapped.
Smiling, I pressed the gun to his thigh, the bullet burying deep into his skin and bone, the sound loud. Almost as loud as his scream. “That should take your mind off your hand.”
He lunged, and I punched him, once again smashing his nose, the blood spurting. I slapped him, returning every single one he had landed on Sofia. Tears filled his eyes, and he began to beg. Plead for his life. He offered me his money, his information, his loyalty.
I laughed. I wanted nothing of his. I wanted to shoot off every toe and finger. One at a time. Riddle him with bullets so he would slowly bleed out. Then blow him up.
But I had to end this. I needed to get back to Sofia.
“Tie him to the chair while I’m gone, but leave the good hand free. Watch him.” I hurried to the van and got the bags I had brought. Ignoring the dead bodies on the floor, I found the gas line into the house and attached the explosive device I had made. It was simple but effective. It would rupture the line, and the sparks would ignite an inferno. I added a few other explosives the fire would detonate. There would be nothing left of this structure.
Then I headed back upstairs and, as Damien and Marcus watched, set down the bag I’d been carrying. I indicated Ivan, and Damien came closer, his gun at the ready. I opened the second bag I had brought, then set four boxes at Ivan’s feet.
I looked at his bloodied face, feeling nothing but satisfaction.
“I’m dying,” he moaned.
I laughed. “Not yet. Damien didn’t aim to kill, just to disarm you. My bullet will make you bleed for a long time. But right now, you’re still alive and will be for a while.”
I sat back on my heels.
“However, you are going to die shortly. The house will explode, reducing you and your comrades to nothing. But I’m going to give you a chance, Ivan. You can sit here and wait to die, or you can play my game. One of these boxes contains a bomb. One that will explode and send painful shrapnel into your body. The pain will be agonizing, and you will linger until the other bomb explodes. But the other three are harmless. Good odds, yeah? One in four. If you pull the right wire, you might even be able to escape. I’m leaving one hand untied.” I tossed a set of car keys I had found downstairs to the floor. “Drag yourself out and run. You’re good at that.”
I could feel Damien’s and Marcus’s confusion behind me, unsure what I was doing.
“You’ll be waiting so you can kill me with your bullet,” Ivan spat.
I stood, shaking my head. “I don’t care about you. Your new face is out there. Your men are dead, your plan failed. I’m leaving, and frankly, I don’t give a shit anymore. You can die tonight, you can go free. You will die soon anyway. You have too many enemies looking for you. I took away what mattered to you the most. Your power. How you die is of no concern to me anymore. Your pain is for Sofia. You never touch what is mine. Ever.”
I unfurled the wires, leaving them on the arm of the chair. He grabbed them, and I shook my head, laughing. “There is a delay. Pulling them now only seals your fate, not ours.”
He let off a string of curse words, calling me every name in the book. I grinned, enjoying his anger.
“Sticks and stones, Ivan.”
He glared, and I bent close. “You should have listened. You should have left me alone. I didn’t care about your revenge. I didn’t care about your reign of terror. But you brought it and your world to my doorstep. You threatened the one thing I love the most in the world. If you had really done your research on the deadly ghost, you would have realized the people I killed were just like you. I would never work for someone with no soul. It was always to stop the evil. Never to add to it. And now, you’re going to be on that list.” I straightened. “Say hello to Alex when you get to hell.”
I turned to head to the door, indicating Marcus and Damien should go in front of me. “Have fun choosing your death, Ivan.”
We jogged down the steps, silent, and went out the way we came in.
I paused at the tree line, waiting.