Page 62 of Stolen Princess

Shit. Asshole is getting loud.

I take two steps to my right into the alley, dragging him with me. He reaches out for her and catches her hair. With a startled and pained cry, she swings with us into the dark, where he draws her into his chest. He’s a hell of a lot taller than her, so I can’t see her face. I can only hear her whimpers and heavy breathing.

“We’re only going to talk,” I tell him. “Take your hand off the girl, and I’ll let you go.”

“Take your hand off me, or I’ll shoot her right here.”

I wrench harder, making him cry out. “You won’t because I’m guessing you’re going to get a lot of money for returning her in one piece.”

“Fuck you. I’ll kill her, and then I’ll kill you.”

Lars shoves her, hits her with his elbow across the jaw, and kicks her into the wall. She bumps the back of her head, pain and fear all over her.

All I see is red.

A beautiful haze of it that hones my focus and makes my hand tingle with bloodlust. His gun is out of his pocket, his arm raised to her forehead, and I don’t hesitate.

I drag the blade of my knife straight across his throat from one side to the other.

Blood splatters the moment his carotids are sliced all over Genevieve’s front, side, and back as she turns around and buries her face in her hands against the building so she doesn’t have to watch. Lars gurgles and gasps, the sound gruesome and delightful. His gun drops to the ground with a heavy clatter as he grabs his neck and collapses to his knees.

“Oh my god,” she whispers as she twists her head to see. I’m surprised. I expected her to keep her face hidden.

Lars is bleeding everywhere, a river of red running down his front and pooling beneath him. His lips are caked in it too, his face white. He falls onto his side in a heap, just about dead, and I close my knife before I frisk him.

“Rhys…”

“Not now. I’ll explain back at the hotel, but not now.” I find his phone and unlock it with his face. His eyes are open, haunted and fixed. She makes a sickly noise, but I can’t focus on that at the moment. “Grab his gun.”

She’s blinking about ten thousand times a second. “What? His what? You killed him. He’s dead. His gun was sticking into my hip, and he told me I had to go with him or he’d kill me. That’s twice today. Two men tried to take me and kill me today.”

Shit.

I grab the gun from the ground and shove it in my bag. Once his phone is unlocked, I reset his unlock code and steal his wallet so identifying him takes longer. They’ll have to fingerprint him for it. Then I stand and reach out for her hand.

I don’t grab her. I don’t say anything. I simply offer her the choice.

Her tremulous eyes meet mine, and to my amazement, she takes my hand. Instantly, I run us down the alley in the opposite direction from how we entered. It exits out onto the same street I did earlier, so I know it runs parallel, but this one is more residential than the main drag.

I put my arm around her waist and tuck our heads together, angling us so our faces aren’t as visible. As it is, she has blood all over her dress, and there’s not much I can do about that other than hope no one notices it.

“Move your hair over your face so it covers you.”

She doesn’t ask questions. She simply does and allows me to guide us back the long way to the hotel. She’s shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, her body trembling so strongly with shock that her teeth are chattering.

“Are you okay?” I whisper as we get closer.

“No. Yes. I don’t know. What’s happening?”

“A lot.”

“Who was he?”

“I’ll explain in a bit.”

“You killed him. You sliced his throat just like that. Right there in the alley. I know you told me you killed people and I believed you, but I never thought… I didn’t expect…”

“It was him or you, and I wasn’t going to let him hurt you or take you.”