Page 3 of Brutal
The man in front of me is bigger than I expected, and I don’t just mean size. His presence is big, the kind that owns every room he steps into.
He isn’t surprised.
He isn’t confused.
He isn’t even angry.
He’s simply fixated, as if I’ve stepped exactly where I was meant to.
“That’s far enough,” he says.
I swallow. “You’re making a mistake.” I keep my voice steady because I know what I’m holding. Because I know what it means.
He tightens his grip on me, pulling me away from the edge, while another man emerges from the shadows. This one isn’t quite as big, but already I can see his eyes even in the dark—emerald green and hard. Eyes that don’t miss anything.
And behind both of them, still in the shadow, is a third. Tall but thinner than the other two. Lanky, actually, like he still has to grow into his size.
He watches.
“I don’t think so,” the second man says.
I let out a breath. “You don’t understand,” I say. “What I have?—”
“We understand exactly what you have.” From the first man. The big one.
My pulse spikes. “Then you understand what happens next. This doesn’t stay here. It doesn’t disappear. I made sure of that.”
Rain hammers harder against the dock. Water splashes up against the wood.
The man holding me shifts slightly, just enough to further tighten his grip.
“Did something change?” I ask. “I was told that?—”
“Shut up!” The man holding me squeezes my throat.
I suck in a breath.
The third man in the shadows tilts his head, just slightly.
He’s not concerned. Not threatened.
And that’s when I know this is all wrong.
Not just the location.
Not just the timing.
Me.
I’m wrong.
I’m not supposed to be here.
“I think,” the second man says quietly, “you’ve misunderstood your position.”
I shake my head. “No. I know exactly where I stand.”
But do I?
