Page 112 of Corrupted Sinner

Think, god damn it.

Amusement. This man liked to be amused.

Mateo had untied the rope, and he gripped my wrist and moved my hand to the table, two of his fingers pressed against the back of my hand to hold it flat.

“Have you seen that episode of the ‘Walking Dead’?” I blurted out the first “amusing” thought that came to mind.

He cocked an eyebrow as he tested the tip of the blade against the fleshy pad of his finger. Damn, that thing was sharp.

“You know the one?” I continued. “The episode where they’re all eating around the fire and we find out they’re all eating Bob’s leg? Barbecued Bob.”

He made that sound again, half-scoff, half-laugh, and though he kept the knife in his hand, he leaned back in his chair.

“Go on,” he said and nodded for me to continue.

Which was a bit of a problem, because that was pretty much all I’d come up with. I really needed to work on my improv skills, it seemed.

“I’m just wondering what you’re planning here,” I hedged, nodding at the knife. “Because if you’re looking for a meal, I’m the smallest filet in the room, don’t you think?” I asked, looking pointedly around at the other men, all standing at attention with guns in their hands, then turned back to Domínguez.

He looked at me straight-faced for a moment while his lips twitched, then he burst out laughing, so hard his face began to redden.

And then, to my surprise, Mateo began to move my hand away, one slow millimeter at a time. Away from Domínguez. Away from his wicked blade.

It made the tight, twisted knot inside me ease just a little. How much help Mateo would or could offer, I couldn’t guess. But it felt like maybe I wasn’t alone in this room filled with monsters.

Or maybe, I was just grasping at straws.

It was a long moment before Domínguez gathered himself.

“You are, by far, the most amusing woman I’ve ever met,Señorita,” he said as he wiped the tears from where they’d gathered at the corners of his eyes.

He breathed in deep and let it out slowly.

“Hold her still, Mateo,” he said.

Then the smile fell away.

And the blade of his knife gleamed in his hand.

Chapter Forty-One

Brute

She was in there. Right there. So close.

I tightened my grip on the handle of my Glock, my heart pounding in my chest as I surveyed the house in front of me. Old, crumbling brick. Dirty windows. Overgrown yard. It was like the grass and weeds were trying to climb the house, grow over it until the house was hidden and gone.

We’d spread out in a circle around the slowly vanishing brick bungalow, surrounding the target, ready to rush in. Ready to get my crazy blonde back and never let her out of my sight again.Never.

But this felt wrong. So fucking wrong. I could feel eyes on me, coming from every direction.

“We don’t have a chance in hell here, my friends,” I said to Gabe and Deo who were crouched next to me behind the thicket of bushes across the street.

Leo, Vito, and Tate had circled around, waiting for the signal.

Gabe nodded, knowing damn well how this was going to play out.

“We know she’s alive,” Deo said, gripping his own weapon tighter. “That’s all that matters.”