𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂 ❶

𝟖. ✭ 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈 ✭

Gunshots, several in fact, pierce the thick wooden door behind Torey. One manages to shoot into his shoulder, the bullet going right through him into some other area of the room. He doesn't so much as flinch but rolls his eyes. The man rolled his fucking eyes and now he's plowing directly into Tucker and I.

Now, I've been drilled by Torey before, but never tackled like I was a pro-athlete by him. The wind knocked completely out of me the moment his humongous frame landed on top of the two of us. Once he rolls off I can finally get a semblance of breath in my lungs. Gasping for air, I flip over and look for Tucker, who has somehow vanished.

Where the hell did he go?

I look over my shoulder and see Torey aiming his gun at the door shooting shot after shot in retaliation. The moment he has to reload, a large snapping sound has me looking from Torey to the door, which is currently being kicked in. The first man who comes through isn't expecting a bat to the face, one that's wielded by Tucker. In a much more interesting turn of events he actually starts disarming the rest of the men using only the bat and his hands. He's like a hurricane of furry, fast and precise. He doesn't miss a beat as he makes his way through the first four of them.

Lift bat. Strike. Disarm. Knee to the abdomen. Throw to the ground. Next man. So on and so forth, making quick work of it. And all with that damn baseball bat.

I didn't think he actually knew how to use the damn thing... No wonder he always kept it bedside.

"Mooootheeeerrrrfucker." It's all Torey said, tone full of surprise, before launching to his feet to join the fight.

Unlike Tucker's tall, lithe frame Torey is a house. The two work surprisingly well together, almost balancing each other with their fighting techniques. Tucker's movements are swift and agile while Torey uses brute and unyielding force, whether from his fists or his gun. The sight before me has me both horrified and enraptured.

I never knew Tucker could fight like that, he acted as docile as a house cat most of the time. I watch as he removes one of the men's guns and aims it at the man's head but I close my eyes before I can see the damage from the shot he'd made. Now Torey I had seen do these things. I knew Torey was capable of this type of ruthlessness but Tucker? No. I wouldn't have thought so in a million years.

You once felt the same way about Torey.

Well, that's not entirely true. I had known he could fight but I did not know he maimed and tortured people, made them beg to be killed. The mental image of him with blood-drenched hands and a face void of emotion passes behind my lids, making me open my eyes to escape it. I instantly regret it as Torey snaps someone's neck like a twig directly in my line of vision, making the most horrific of noises.

I keep my eyes closed, not wanting to watch the rest of the scene play out before me. The gunshots and the brutality of it all over one person— me. They were here for me. Those guns were meant to be fired on me; kill me. A shiver rolls through my body at the thought just as I feel a large hand fist in my hair, dragging me to my feet. I struggle against the hold, wanting to be free of my captor.

""Let go of me!" He spins me around to face him. There's a sadistic shimmer in his eyes as he takes in the sight of me, seeming to love the fear he sees. I reach up and try to untangle his hand from my roots but it's unmoving, cemented there. His tongue licks along his lips as he continues to take in my struggling self. Like a cat with a mouse. Playing with it's prey before it strikes.

A bright shimmer catches my eye which brings my attention to the long blade in his other hand. The terrified scream that tears through me just before he pierces my side is cut off by a loud gunshot, followed by the splattering of blood all over my face. It had also gone inside of my mouth. Inside of my mouth. The man's limp body falls to the floor which has the bile creeping up my throat. The bile paired with the metallic tang, and possible brain matter on my tongue, has me turning to the side and hurling relentlessly.