Chapter 40 #3
The three fuckers stared in confusion before running around to look for them, as if Tony and his friend would magically appear. Shadow barked in the distance, keeping up his performance.
Vadim exploded with fury. “What are you looking around at? Go, look for them. Only one of you. Two of you stay around here. Fucking idiots.”
That’s one way to treat employees. Fucking boss of the year, right there.
I moved away from Tony and his friend, circling the area, hiding behind another container.
The darkness and violence ran through my blood like a wildfire, my heart hammering against my ribs, rattling my cage with fear.
Fear of losing Tara was so fucking sharp, so terrifying, that my legs fucking quaked.
I had to hold it together though. Because Tara was waiting for me.
My gaze landed on that one idiot guard looking for his dead friends, who was finally closing in on me, when shouts rang out in the air.
The fucker whirled around in the direction of the shouts, and I lunged.
Grabbing him by the throat, I pulled him behind a container.
“How many men are inside the container?”
He thrashed in my arms, but right then, Shadow came from behind me and clamped his jaw around the fucker’s leg. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened to let out a bloodcurdling scream, but I quickly snapped his neck.
I looked at Shadow with exasperation. “I was trying to ask him a question.”
He gave a vicious growl, the blood of his prey dripping from his teeth. I rolled my eyes. “Fine, let’s get rid of these bastards. And don’t fucking get killed, or Tara will kill me.”
He growled again, and the two of us ran to the two men who were on their way to the container, probably to inform Vadim about the dead men.
Fortunately, we reached them first. The fuckers had their guns loose in their arms and were too fucking slow. I landed on one, getting in a few punches since we were done being quiet, while the screams from the other man were proof of Shadow’s savagery.
Not wanting to be left behind, I pulled out Tara’s knife from my back pocket and slammed it into this whimpering fucker’s neck, coating my hands in his blood.
Now, I matched Shadow.
Right then, the door to the container burst open, and another five men came crashing through. Quickly, I pushed Shadow away from their eyes and lunged at the five men.
Right now, I wasn’t an NYPD detective, minding the laws, thinking over the consequences of killing men. I was a fucking psychopath whose girl these fuckers had kidnapped. And the only way back to her was their destruction. I was a savage. A beast. A motherfucking monster.
I slashed. I cut. My fists were a raging hammer on their skulls.
My shouts were a battle cry. Arms tried to hold me down, raining down punches on me from every direction.
My body felt no pain. No hurt. There was no stopping my body from fighting.
They beat me. I got back up, taking more men down with me.
I was a monster let loose, a fucking savage without his moral compass. I fought and struck and bathed in the blood of these fools who’d tried to keep me away from my girl.
I raged until rivers of blood soaked the concrete deck.
I looked around at the carnage I’d created. It was an offering of broken and bloody limbs for my little beauty. It was an apology in blood for my Tara, for keeping her waiting for so long.
With that singular thought riding my mind, I stormed inside the container, a gun in one hand, knife in the other, and Shadow right at my feet.
My eyes fell on my girl. Her mouth was taped shut.
But her eyes flooded with so much relief, so much fucking love for me, it hit me straight in the heart.
Then her gaze fell on Shadow, and her eyes pooled with tears.
Wow. The betrayals were endless in this cruel world.
I clutched my heart in literal hurt. “Really, little beauty? Not a tear for me, but crying a river for Shadow?”
Her teary eyes glared at me, and she mumbled something.
“What?” I asked.
She glared and mumbled again when a loud, irritating scoff cut her off.
Vadim pulled his gun on my girl’s head and yelled, “What the fuck is the matter with you? Back away or I shoot.”
I growled. Shadow growled louder.
He jammed the barrel of his gun on her scarred cheek, making me see red. With death riding my mind and blood dripping down my fingers, I took a step forward. “You touch her, and I'll kill your brother. I’ll kill you.”
He cocked the hammer, halting my feet. Tara’s eyes were trained on me, a bone-chilling calm emanating from her. As if she could die happy right here, looking at me—and Shadow. I gave her a gentle smile. “It’s going to be okay.”
“It’s not,” Vadim interrupted, once again. “I’m going to kill this bitch if you don’t walk out right now and come back with my brother.”
I looked behind me, out the door, and got a clear view of the two rows of containers beyond. At that moment, I realized two very important things.
One, I was blocking the fucking door entirely. Two, Vadim stood right across the door, leaning over Tara.
I turned back to face Vadim and Tara and grabbed Shadow’s leash. With a defeated sigh, I shuffled my steps. “Let’s go, Shadow.”
With that, I took two steps to the right, pretending that Shadow pulled me in that direction, when a bullet zipped past me and lodged itself in Vadim’s shoulder.
He screamed, and his gun went off with his knee-jerk reaction.
My eyes snapped toward Tara, who immediately pushed her chair back, slamming herself on the ground to dodge the shot.
I rushed to Vadim, grabbed his gun, and threw him outside the container for the Wildcats to handle, while Shadow lunged at Tara, licking across her face.
Once I saw Naomi running toward a crawling, thrashing Vadim, I ran back inside the container and quickly got her chair upright, pulling her into a seated position.
I started to carefully pull open the sticky tape over her mouth, while Shadow tried to rush me with his incessant lunging over Tara’s lap.
I couldn’t even ask him to stop because if I were a dog, I’d be the same way, probably worse. While Shadow showered Tara with love, my girl’s eyes were only on me.
I slowly pulled off the tape and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ears. “You knew I was coming for you, right?”
A tear rolled down her cheek as she nodded furiously and whispered, “I was waiting for you.”
My vision swam in front of me as wetness dripped out of my eyes. “I know you were. I’m here. I wasn’t too late.”
Tara’s eyes widened, and she moved her face closer to me, nuzzling her nose along my jaw, pressing kisses on my cheeks and my lips. “I’m okay. You came for me. You saved me.”
She kept kissing my face and murmuring words of consolation, of love, of gratitude. Her soft lips and kind words slowly tethered me back to her, the love shining in her eyes—all for me—finally started to calm my worry. But with that, the deeply subdued anger rose to the surface.
My voice was hoarse as I said in between kissing her mouth, “Shut up. Do you have any idea how worried I was? Do you realize how fucking vital your existence is for my fucking survival?”
Tara shook her head.
My heart pounded in my chest with sheer relief and explosive outrage.
“No?” I wiped my eyes so I could see her ridiculous, lying face better.
“You think this”—I pointed at my face—“happens every day? Every second that you were away from my sight, I stopped fucking living. My heart started pounding like a racehorse. All it wanted to do was run out of breath and cease to exist.”