10
Vincent
Fuck!This is exactly what I wanted to protect her from. How dare they? It’s too soon. They couldn’t even give me a few minutes of joy. A few minutes with my obsession. How quickly I’ve gone from the greatest moment of my life to the worst.
Faith was terrified when she saw me pull out the guns. My heart sinks. It’s over now. We fucked once, that’s it. I can’t hide my life from her any longer.
I step from foot to foot as Faith gets dressed, silent as she pulls her sweater over her head.
“I have to tell you something, Faith,” I say once she’s fully dressed.
I stuff my second gun into my waistband and grab her hands. “When I open that door, you need to stay behind me. That guy your mom brought home is my boss’s brother. He’s a bad, bad man. I don’t want to frighten you, but he will kill us if he gets the chance. I’m only telling you this so you’ll listen to me. No one will ever, ever hurt you. I will protect you. Do you hear me, Faith?”
She gulps, then nods. Her eyes are still wary, and I’m sure she doesn’t know what to think, but her doubt has to be put on hold. All I need her to do right now is listen.
Steeled and certain that this may work yet, I open the door.
Two of Rico’s cronies are already in the hall, advancing on me, they reach for their guns at the same time as me, but I’m faster. I have my gun drawn in the time it takes me to take two steps forward. Lifting the barrel, I fire twice, hitting both men square in the forehead.
Blood explodes against the wall behind them, and they fall to the ground. I glance back at Faith and wince when I see the expression on her face—pure terror.
Swallowing that guilt, I tell Faith to wait here. I step around the two dead bodies, and I don’t dare to look up at her face again, too worried about what I might see.
I’m nearly at the end of the hall when Rico crosses in front of me. I grip my gun a little harder.
“Well, Vincent,” he sneers, a smug expression on his face. “I told you you’d regret crossing me.”
“I haven’t and won’t. It’s just us now. Your other men are dead, as you can see.” I motion behind me to the floor.
“Did you bring the girl here, Vincent? If you give her to me now, I might let you live.”
My blood runs cold at the thought of him getting his hands on Faith.
“Take me,” Faith interludes like a meek mouse. “Just, please… don’t hurt him.”
“Shut up, Faith. You’re not going anywhere with him,” I snarl.
“Aww, your first lovers quarrel? Too bad you won’t have a chance for angry makeup sex,” he chuckles, “don’t worry, Vincent. I’ll make sure to give her a good fuck after I put a bullet in your skull. I’ll bet she’s tight as fuck.”
I take a deep, shuddering breath. My mind has no more thoughts. I’m fueled by rage and rage alone.
I leap forward with a primal yell, right hand poised to clock Rico square in the nose. I pin him against the wall and punch him repeatedly. He tries weakly to raise his hands against me but is too fat and weak to actually make a hit.
I wrap one hand around the back of Rico’s head and twist his neck. He never stood a chance, not against me. In one swift motion, I break his spine and toss him down the stairwell. A few blood spatters are left behind as he rolls down the stairs.
Standing at the top of the staircase, I steady my breathing. The fog in my mind begins to clear as I realize that I have just subjected my love to this sort of violence. I’ve already failed.
I look back down the hall. Faith is illuminated in the doorway to the master bedroom, and the distance between us seems like miles. The bodies of Rico’s cronies lie between us.
“Y-you killed them.” Her bottom lip trembles, and something like confusion flickers in her blue eyes.
I sigh and let my shoulders sag.
“Yes, Faith. I killed them, and I would do it again. That’s what they deserve for trying to hurt you.
“You look like you’ve done this before. Almost like you do this all the time.”
“Yes, I’ve killed a lot of people. It’s my job,” I explain, not wanting to hold anything back. There is no point in hiding who I am now. “There is more…”