Falling with Grace - Page 155

“A pound of flesh seems fair. Don’t you agree?”

Carter cried out before my knife struck his belly, carving a few jagged lines, then moved to his back.

By the time I’d finished, torn ribbons of flesh hung from his back, and a puddle of blood pooled beneath his chair, his sandals stained crimson.

His cheek rested on the table, and adrenaline pulsed through my veins.

“Please. No…more.”

“I’ll leave you with this mercy.”

I held my hand out to Javier. He placed a ball-peen hammer in my palm along with Carter’s American driver’s license and a singular nail.

“This is for Grace.” I stood over the top of him, slapped his ID to his forehead, and drove the nail through both plastic and bone in two hard hits, his dead eyes staring up at me.

My breath heaved in my chest as I tossed the hammer away. “Hang him up on the bridge for everyone to see. Make sure his family makes it home quietly. Their vacation is over.”

Javier nodded as I placed two silver coins in each of the clean-up crew’s hands.

“Now, let’s get back.”

I have a girl to see and a phone call to make.

33

Grace

The sun disappeared, taking its warmth with it as I sat on the patio, alone, with a blanket wrapped around me. The stars shone like twinkling LEDs in the clear sky, the new moon a shadow in contrast.

Waves lapped against the beach as the guards moved along the sandy barrier. Rosa’s bungalow remained dark. Her lights turned out hours ago as I sat on the L-shaped sofa, my thoughts running amuck.

Where was he?

Why bring us here for a ‘vacation’ only to disappear moments later?

I drew the cover closer to my chin, the slight breeze leaving a chill racing across my flesh.

“Sitting in your thoughts can be dangerous for your health.”

I jerked with a squeak and glared in his direction.

Elias walked along the pool, his steps calculated and steady.

“Who says I’m thinking?”

Blood splatter smeared his collar and waist, ruining the white shirt. Speckles dotted his face.

How many shirts was that now?

“You don’t get to be in my position without developing the ability to read body language.”

I raised a brow. “Oh really?” I spun my legs off the couch as he stood before me. “What am I thinking now?”

He dropped to his knees before me, his warm hands caressing my thighs as they moved and settled on my hips. I dug my teeth into my bottom lip.

“You’re thinking…” He leaned in, his lips touching the sensitive flesh below my right ear. “About how much you want me.”

His thumb skirted below my shirt, the pad rubbing against my hip bone.