Page 84 of King of Cruelty

“Argh!” She lunged, the blade slicing through the air—falling in a graceful arc for my neck.

My training with Bane kicked in, almost like he was right next to me, speaking in my ear.

“First thing you do if someone attacks you with a knife is fucking run. But if getting away isn’t an option, block the hit with your forearm—

I snapped up, smashing my forearm against hers and catching the blade just a millimeter from my jaw.

“—they’ll recover from the block quickly, so you need to be quicker. Strike them somewhere so sensitive that any hit will put them on their ass: nose, eyes, throat, and groin for men—”

My fist was already up and flying, smashing into the bitch’s throat.

She gasped, eyes bugging, and stumbled back.

“—if you can, run away, and even more if you can, get the knife, then run away. You don’t want to be chased by a twice-as-angry fucker with bruised balls and a knife.”

My heart jackhammered out of my chest—running on fear and pure adrenaline. I didn’t recognize the girl who grabbed Debra’s wrist and smashed it on the armchair, popping the knife out of her grip.

It skittered out of her hand under the security desk, and I dove—dropping down and scrabbling under it.

“Argh!You stupid slut!” Fingers tangled in my hair and yanked me back, exploding pain in my skull.

“Ahh!” I screamed, stumbling over my feet.

“If someone grabs your hair, don’t try to yank away. You’ll just rip all the hair out of your scalp. Lean into it, not away.”

“Leaning in sounds good to me,” I growled. Throwing my head back, my skull collided with something that crunched under the force.

“Ahhh!” The grip on my hair disappeared.

I spun as Debra flew back, clutching her gushing, broken nose. I didn’t give her a chance to recover from this one.

Snatching up the computer desktop, the cords I unplugged under the desk easily came through the hole when I swung—cracking her over the head.

Debra dropped like a stone, but I kept swinging.

Bang! Bang! Bang!on her skull, smashing the computer over and over again until the screen shattered—covering her in plastic, glass, and blood.

I stumbled away, gasping around the heart throwing up in my throat. “Ugh,” I cried, grabbing the knife and running for the elevator.

Sunny, Liam, Bane, Genny, and their parents would be kept alive until after the auction, but the Sons of Saint, Scourges, Cardinals, and the Prissy Sissies—sorry, baby, but it has such a nice ring to it—were in grave danger. I had to save them from an ambush, then get them to help me ambush the Brotherhood!

“...aggh...”

I froze.

Groans echoed in my ears, coming from one source and one source alone. Debra—

“...help... help...”

—was still alive.

I stared at her weak and limp hand, scratching uselessly at the carpet. I stared... and I didn’t move.

I knew what Sunny would do in this moment. I knew what Liam would do. I even knew what Bane would do, and what he would say. Bane would tell me to run and keep running until I found a safe place to hide, and wait for him to rescue me. Wait for him to save me like everyone has had to do my whole life—save helpless little Kenzie.

But if it was them, they’d kill her.

Slit her throat like it was nothing at all, and then they’d march right upstairs and wipe out the rest of her friends like ants on the counter.