CHAPTER 14 #2
I pinned her flat against the brick wall of the alcove, my hand clamping hard over her mouth to completely silence any potential gasp or scream.
I stood over her as a solid wall of heat and muscle, entirely shielding her small frame from the sweeping lights.
My eyes never left the tunnel opening. Margarita’s eyes were wide with absolute terror, staring up at me in the shadows like I was the fucking monster in the dark.
I didn't care. Let her be scared of me. I needed her strict compliance right now way more than I needed her comfort.
My fingers pressed tight into her cheek, feeling the frantic, rabbit-fast pulse beating in her jaw.
The saltiness of her skin rubbed against my leather glove.
"Shhh. Not a word," I warned, feeling her lips tremble against my palm.
The heavy splashing of boots grew louder.
"Don't move an inch," I breathed. "I've got you."
I shifted my weight off the brick wall, the combat knife held low and tight against my thigh.
I positioned myself at the absolute edge of the alcove’s shadow, coiled up like a spring under maximum tension.
I could hear one of the mercenaries whistling a low, nervous tune as he marched through the puddles.
He was seconds away. I had to hit him perfectly on the first strike or his partner would open fire and turn this entire junction into a concrete slaughterhouse.
I licked my lips, tasting the heavy copper of the air.
Just a little closer. Come into the dark, you son of a bitch.
"Wait for it," I mouthed to Margarita, my hand still tight over her face.
The light swung closer.
"Count to three."
The beam hit the floor just outside the alcove.
"Close your eyes, Margarita."
The first mercenary swept his flashlight past the edge of the brick.
The exact second the man's shoulder passed the threshold of the shadow, I lunged.
It was a completely silent, explosive burst of movement.
I caught the guy from behind before his brain even registered he wasn't alone.
My left hand shot out, clamping brutally over his mouth while my right arm wrapped his, maintaining total control of his rifle so it wouldn't clatter against the ground.
My boot slipped slightly on the slick concrete, but I recovered my balance instantly, driving my knee into the back of his leg to buckle him.
"Got you," I hissed in his ear.
He thrashed, his eyes bugging out in panic.
"Shh..." I tightened my grip on his face. "Quiet now."
My hand stayed clamped like a vice over his mouth while I drove the Ka-Bar straight upward under his jaw, pushing the serrated steel through the soft tissue, through his tongue, and deep into the brain stem.
It was a grisly, intimate execution. I held his heavy body upright as it violently spasmed against me, the hot blood spilling over my glove, feeling sticky and warm in the freezing air.
Margarita was watching from mere inches away in the alcove as the life completely drained out of the guy’s eyes.
She was witnessing the raw, unpolished version of the butcher she was chained to.
The wet, sickening gurgle in the man’s throat was the only noise in the tunnel.
I can feel the life leaving him. It’s a clean kill. Way better than the bastard deserved.
"Stay back, Margarita," I commanded softly.
She was glued to the brick, hyperventilating.
"Look at me, not him," I said, ripping the blade out of the skull. "One down."
The second mercenary turned around, his flashlight beam accidentally catching the dark silhouette of his partner slumped dead against my chest.
"Vince? What the fuck?" the guy blurted out.
I dropped the dead weight of the first body into the water and charged before the second man could even think about raising his rifle.
He was desperately fumbling for his trigger, reacting too slow.
I closed the distance in the dark, ducking under a frantic, blinding sweep of his flashlight.
My knife hand was already slick with hot blood, so I squeezed the hilt harder to keep the weapon from sliding out of my grip.
"Over here, bastard," I snarled.
He raised the gun. "Drop it!"
"Too late."
I slammed my entire body weight into him like a freight train, the massive impact knocking the wind out of both of us.
We crashed into the tunnel wall. I drove the knife straight into his gut, twisting the steel blade with a savage, ripping jerk.
The guy opened his mouth to scream, but I grabbed him by the throat and smashed the back of his head against the solid concrete wall.
A sickening crack echoed loudly through the pipes.
The fight was way too loud. The heavy thud of the body and the breaking skull was going to carry down the tunnels.
I yanked the blade free as he went limp.
A splatter of his blood hit my forehead, dripping down into my eyebrow.
Messy. Way too much noise. We have minutes before the rest of the crew swarms this junction.
"Go to sleep," I growled, letting him slide down the wall.
He twitched on the ground.