Page 144

Epstein’s nose shattered. His blood spurted.

Chay saw nothing, heard nothing, knew nothing except that this man had tried to kill Bianca.

“Chayton!” Bianca grabbed his shoulders from behind. “Chayton, stop! Stop!”

She was screaming, but Chay was deaf to her screams. She was tugging at his shoulders, but he didn’t feel her hands on him.

“You fuck,” he gasped. “You sick, crazy fuck!”

“Chayton, you’re killing him!”

Yes. He would. He fucking-A would…

A shudder went through him.

He pulled back.

Epstein was a bloody mess. So what? Bianca. That last flick of the knife…

He turned around, still on his knees.

Bianca’s throat was bleeding.

“Oh God! Bianca…”

“I’m all right.”

“You’re bleeding, honey. Jesus, you’re—”

“It’s superficial. But you…”

Her gaze flew to his arm. His gaze followed hers. Shit. Blood was pouring from his upper arm. Epstein must have slashed his brachial artery.

“Honey. Get me a towel. Then call the police.”

Bianca shot to her feet. Ran into the kitchen. Returned with an armful of of dish towels. She pressed one to the slash in Chay’s arm. She held it there for a few seconds, then lifted it.

GodohGodohGod!

He was still bleeding. Too much. Much too much blood. Blood that was spurting from the wound.

“My artery,” Chay gasped. “He must have—”

She leaned forward. Pressed a hard kiss to his lips.

Working quickly, she folded another towel. Pressed it against Chay’s arm. She tried ripping a towel in half, but she couldn’t, so she yanked off her T-shirt, used her teeth to tear into one end of it, then tore it lengthwise.

Good. Excellent. It made a perfect tourniquet.

Epstein began to groan. He tried to sit up.

Bianca swung towards him. She kicked the knife away and sent it spinning across the floor.

“You move one inch,” she hissed, “and I’ll finish the job the lieutenant started. Understand?”

When Epstein tried to sit up a second time, she muttered something short and ugly in Sicilian. Then she said, “You’re sick, and I’m a shrink, and I understand that you’re sick…but I swear I’ll kill you if you move again.”

The third time, she didn’t say anything. She simply balled her hand into a fist, slammed it into Epstein’s middle and and nodded with satisfaction when he fell back onto the floor.