Page 84 of Blood & Throttle

Stupid fuck was probably just following orders. Just another bootlicker with a trigger finger and no spine.

Lucky for him, his aim’s worse than Luca’s sex life.

Because if that bullet had landed half an inch higher, I’d be skinning him alive instead of giving him the easy way out.

I don’t speak.

Don’t blink.

Just walk.

The crowd parts without being told. Like animals scenting a predator in the room.

Up the stairs. Past the barricade. Through the smoke.

I find him exactly where Ghost marked packing up his rifle, breaking it down with calm little movements like this wasn’t supposed to mean anything. Like today wasn’t personal.

He stands, turns.

Sees me.

Freezes.

His hands go up, slow, shaking. Confused.

Like he doesn’t understand that this was never going to be a conversation.

I press the muzzle to his forehead, voice low and full of venom. “That was one fucking order you should’ve died before following.”

BANG.

Blood hits the wall and his body drops.

I walk away.

No urgency. No panic. Just the sound of boots on concrete and the taste of gunpowder on my tongue.

Back at the pit, the noise is deafening. But it dulls the second I step in.

Everyone’s staring.

The kill’s already on the screens. Multiple angles. Drone feed. Instant replay slowed down like it’s some fucking highlight reel.

Even the crowd is quieter now. Not out of respect.

Out of awe.

Doc’s crouched beside Sin, cleaning the bloodoff her leg, hands stained crimson. Bishop and Luca linger nearby, faces pale, pretending not to stare at the loop playing above them.

Sin sees me and shoves Doc’s hand off her thigh hard enough to make her stumble.

Then she stands, limping, furious and storms straight toward me.

“You absolute fucking idiot,” she spits.

I stop. Hands still bloody. Let her come.

“You killed a handler. A Syndicate sniper.Theirguy,” she snarls, stabbing a finger into my chest. “Do you have any idea what you just did?”