Page 19 of Endurance

I looked down at my inner arm. “The bitch cut me with a piece of glass when we tried to grab her.”

Maura turned and walked away after I responded. She stopped next to Alex. Staring down at him, she removed her mask fully. She stared at him for the longest time with a blank look on her face and we all patiently waited. We all knew that this wasn’t easy for her, yet she was handling this moment fiercely.

“Let’s tie him up,” she finally said.

For someone who'd been adamant that we spare the sister and wear masks, Maura got over it pretty quickly. She even accepted my shitty excuse that I had forgotten to put it on. She wanted the sister to die just as much as I did because it was the best way to make Alex suffer. I was almost positive she was relieved that I had taken away the burden of making that choice.

After we got Alex and Tiffany tied up in their living room, Maura pulled her security aside to talk to them privately. I thought I heard her say that she didn’t want them here. Asher nodded at her and handed her his keys. He shoved Dean and mumbled to him, “They’ll be fine.” Then the two of them went out onto the porch where Finn and Brenna were hanging out.

Maura stuffed Asher’s keys into her pocket and gave herself over fully to what was about to happen. Her eyes glided over Alex and Tiffany, studying them and taking in their injuries with a hint of contentment. Alex was bleeding from a broken nose and from where he'd been shot in his leg and shoulder. Each of the girls had put a slug in him and I hoped it fucking hurt.

When she was done looking her fill, her attention moved to us. Louie and I stood shoulder to shoulder, with the unspoken agreement that we would let her take the lead, spill the blood she needed before we would get ours.

She pulled the hunting knife from where it had been strapped to her leg. It was as big as the one Alex had stabbed her with. She went to stand next to Tiffany, facing Alex. “I warned you that we’d wipe out your pathetic little gang and take away everything you care about. I’ve pretty much followed through with the first half of that threat.” She lightly ran her knife along Tiffany’s collar bone, watching Alex as she did. I knew she was searching. As Louie would say, it was her superpower. Maura played with people to see what kind of reaction she could get from them. It was sexy as hell.

“Do you know where Buck is?” she asked him.

Alex didn’t answer. To persuade him, I punched him in the face. He didn’t react much other than a small grimace. Then his eyes flicked to me and he spit blood at my feet. “You must have been the father of the baby I cut up inside your bitch.”

I punched him again.

Tiffany let out another hysterical laugh that made me think she was psychotic. “All Irish babies go to heaven,” she sang. Maura smacked her. The stupid junkie laughed again. “You should have stayed dead, bitch!”

Maura ignored her and looked to Louie. “Untie one of her hands.”

Louie seemed to be happy to oblige. Tiffany tried to claw at him as soon as she was free. Maura caught her hand. She bent it until Tiffany screamed. Then she slid her knife across the girl’s wrist. Blood poured from Tiffany’s wrist to the floor. I watched the blood seep into the carpet, thinking how poetic this moment was.

“She’ll bleed out,” Maura said to Alex. “Tell me where Buck is.”

Tiffany fought to free herself from Maura to no avail. “Ow! Damnit, Alex!” she cried. “She’s hurting me!”

“Shut up, Tiffany!” Alex snapped. “I don’t fucking know where he is. Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

Maura released Tiffany’s wrist. I caught a flicker of relief in Alex’s eyes. Then Maura grabbed Tiffany by the hair, yanked her head back, exposing her throat, and brought her knife to it. “How’d you get into my house? Who in the family is feeding you information?”

Alex shook his head quickly. “I don’t know. That’s a question for Buck. He gave me the blueprints of all the blind spots in your house and a list of times when security changed shifts.”

Maura just stared at him, unmoving.

“I’m telling the truth.” Alex’s words were filled with panic.

A look I couldn’t decipher came over Maura. It was equally triumphant as it was sad. “I believe you,” she said and dragged her knife across Tiffany’s throat.

“No!” Alex roared as blood spilled from his sister’s neck.

Maura took a step back as she watched Alex wail and fight against his restraints. Her eyes were dilated and unblinking. The three of us stood there taking in this moment—his agony of watching his sister choke to death on her own blood.

Alex’s screaming turned into groaning long after Tiffany had died. Maura’s knuckles turned white as her hand squeezed around the handle of her knife. She stalked up to Alex and slammed it into his lower stomach. Alex let out a gasp and Maura backed away, leaving her blade behind.

“Your turn,” she said to Louie and me before leaving to go outside.

Louie and I looked at each other. We knew what we wanted to do. We had talked about it before, one night after a lot of whiskey.

We moved to stand in front of Alex. Louie knocked Tiffany, who was still tied to the chair, backward by her face. Gone was my carefree friend. In his stead was a person who was ready to release his pent-up rage and deliver revenge. In this moment him and I were the same. We felt the same. What we wanted was the same. Our need was the same.

Louie's fists snapped out one after the other, punching Alex repeatedly in the face until the last hit he delivered had enough force to knock Alex and his chair backward. Without even bothering to sit him upright, I pulled the knife from Alex’s stomach and gave it to Louie to cut one of Alex’s legs free from the chair. As soon as it was free, Louie removed Alex’s shoe.

“Maura’s foot was cut,” he said and then rammed the knife through the bottom of Alex’s foot. The blade went all the way through and out the top of the foot. Alex wailed. Before he could finish screaming, Louie pulled the knife out.