A man that knows he’s going to die and doesn’t care is not a man you ever want near the woman you love. There’s nothing he won’t do to get what he wants. I look at Poppy and see her openly crying. Her sobs and fear break my fucking heart. I’m trapped. I can’t charge him with fear he’ll run the blade across her throat and end her life. But I can’t sit here and do nothing. I need more fucking time. I glare at him with pure loathing. Once I get my hands on him, there won’t be a piece of him that won’t carry my mark. I wasn’t lying when I told him I was going to kill him. He’s already fucking dead.
I stay standing and we glare at each other before he smiles his creepy smile again.
“Fine,” he says with a shrug. “Have it your way.”
Poppy’s shirt is still open, revealing her soft and flawless flesh. I force my legs to lock into place as I watch helplessly as Eric runs his hand that’s not carrying the knife up her inner thigh.
“Mmm… I don’t think it’s fair you got to have her and I didn’t. I think I should get a taste before I snuff the light from her eyes.” Eric murmurs and lifts his menacing eyes to me. He continues with a whisper, “And what makes it even better is you watching. The man who took her from me.”
The next several moments happen so fast, they’re a blur. Eric’s hand lands on Poppy’s pussy, just as there’s a loud bang at the door. I move fast when his eyes go to the door to his left. I lunge forward and grab the hand that’s holding the knife and twist while pushing Poppy to the ground. She gives a small cry, but I can’t focus on her right now. Eric’s shocked face comes to me and he screams when I feel his wrist snap in my hand. Immense pleasure fills me. With a roar, I shove him and the chair tips over. I follow and land on top of him. I swing with every bit of rage I feel inside me and connect with his face. Bursts of blood splatter on the floor. I pull my arm back and swing again, and again. Each blow to his face brings even more euphoria rushing through me. I feel a hand trying to drag me off, but I lash out and my fist connects with something hard. I’m not nearly done with this bastard. He was going to hurt my Poppy. He did hurt Poppy. He terrified her. Touched her. Cut her. He tried taking what was mine. He needs to die and it needs to be by my hands.
I hear yelling in the background, but my focus is on the man lying on the ground beneath me. The need to completely wipe the earth of this bastard consumes me. It’s the only thing I can think about. My fist slams against his nose and I hear a crunch. It’s not enough. I want to feel every bone in his body break beneath my fists. I want to hear his last gargled breath leave his lungs. I want to watch as his chest stops pumping up and down. I want to hear the last beat of his heart. Only then will I be satisfied.
This time, two arms grab me, one on each side. I roar and kick out my legs, connecting a couple times with Eric’s stomach when they manage to pull me away.
“Get the hell off me,” I growl, trying to yank my arms away. I’m not fucking done. He’s still fucking breathing. I can see it. His chest is still rising. It needs to stop. I need to make it stop.
“Calm the fuck down, Ash,” I hear a voice grunt in my ear. I look over and glare at Rex, who has one of my arms. Blood drips from his nose.
“He was going to kill her,” I ground out between clenched teeth.
“Well, he’s not going to now. Stop fucking fighting. The bastard’s done for.”
Keeping his eyes on me, he cautiously let’s go, making sure I’m not going to jump back on Eric. It’s damn tempting. My eyes move to his man that has my other arm. Rex gives him a nod, and I yank my arm from his hold. My hate-filled gaze moves back to Eric. The dick has the balls to smile. I barely hold in the madness that’s trying to take over. I need to rein it in, for Poppy. I can’t let this fucker control me. But I only manage to keep it together until the psycho starts laughing.
My vision goes black, and I roar with rage as I charge him again. My foot connects with his stomach and he groans, but that smirk is still on his face. His teeth are bloody, making him look even more evil. Straddling him, I grab his hair with both hands, lift his head, and get down in his face.
“You’re fucking dead, you psychotic motherfuckin’ bastard!” I slam his head down. The heavy thunk of his head hitting the floor sends immense gratification through me. My knuckles burn and my muscles ache with my relentless pounding on his face. His face is hardly recognizable, but I still don’t let up. I can’t. Not until he’s completely obliterated. Never in my life have I ever needed someone to breathe their last breath until this very moment.
All too soon, I feel arms grabbing me again. I don’t know how long I’ve been at this, but it feels like ages, but it’s still not long enough. I yank and pull to try to get away from the arms that are pulling me back from my goal of killing this bastard, but they’re strong. I scream and kick out again, but no matter how hard I try to get back to killing Eric, nothing works.
“Let me the fuck go,” I growl at the person holding my arms, but keep my eyes pinned on Eric. He no longer has the smirk on his face. His eyes are swollen closed and there’s not a spot on his face that doesn’t have blood on it.
“Not doing it, man. You kill him, what happens to Poppy? You willing to give her up to finish this piece of shit off?”
His words hit home. There’s noth
ing, not even taking this fucker out, that would make me give up Poppy.
My chest pumps up and down with my heavy breathing. I look around and see several men in uniforms. One crouches down beside Eric, checking his pulse. He’s not dead. I know because his fucking chest is still moving.
“Let him fucking die,” I growl.
“Shut the fuck up, you idiot,” Rex says in my ear.
I glower at him and yank my arm.
“If I let you go, are you going to go after him again?”
I hold my tongue, contemplating my answer. I want more than anything to finish what I started, but my rational mind tells me I can’t.”
“No,” I grunt.
I look around the room, looking for the one person that I need to see. The one I need to hold, right this very moment. I spot her huddled down on the floor with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. A female officer is crouched down in front of her, talking softly, but her eyes are on me. They don’t leave mine as I walk over and get down on my knees. Tears are still flowing freely down her face. As soon as my knees hit the floor, she throws herself into my arms. My arms wrap around her, and I bring her body tight to mine. I bury my face in her hair as she weeps against my shoulder.
“I’ll give y’all a few minutes,” the officer says softly and leaves us.
I gather her in my arms and lift her up. Carrying her over to the couch, I take a seat. I hold her and close my eyes and simply breathe in her sweet scent. My throat clogs when I think about how close I came to losing her.