Page 65 of Kill for a Kiss

Smoke explodes, thick and blinding, choking the tree line. I move fast, cutting low across the ground. He’ll be repositioning now, trying to get a better view. It’ll be too fucking late. I spot imprints, leaving a trail of fresh and half-dug soleprints into the mud.

The bastard didn’t even try to mask his trail.Typical. I slip through the trees, silent and invisible.I’m coming for you, Stanley.You wanna play? Let’s play, you son of a bitch.

***

Smoke burns in my lungs when I slip my shirt back on, and vault over a fallen tree, my feet pounding the earth like war drums. I move low, fast, weaving through the deep woods.

Another shot cuts through, skimming bark feet away from me. He’d gamble shooting through smoke?Fucking dickhead.

I grit my teeth, speeding up, rage sharpening my focus. I crest the ridge in a dead sprint, dirt flying beneath my feet, and then I see him. His frame stands out through the thinning smoke.

Stanley. Dumb, cocky, smirking as he adjusts his scope like he hasn’t just lit the fuse on a fucking bomb. I don’t give him the chance to gloat. I slam into him with full force, knocking him off his perch and sending us both hurtling down the slope in a tangled mess of fists, limbs, and fury.

We hit the ground hard. I land on top and throw the first punch, knuckles cracking against his jaw. He grunts, laughs, and brings his knee up barely grazing my ribs.

I dodge. We roll. I come out on top.

My knee digs into his ribs as I grab him by the collar, slamming him hard against the ground. “You’ve got ten seconds to tell me why you’re here before I break your jaw.”

Stanley grins. “Aw, big brother. Good to see you too. How long has it been?Years?”

I slam his head into the dirt, not enough to crack bone, but enough to make him feel it.

He grunts, shifts his weight, and I’m pinned beneath him in seconds. “Easy, Silver,” Stanley rasps. His arm’s braced across my throat while I glare up at him. “Can’t I check on my brother? Or are you just upset that I had to make such a dramatic entrance?”

I fucking hate how he looks like me. Same eyes. Same jaw. But where I’ve spent years becoming a ghost, Stanley has stayed bright, reckless,smug. The idiot would walk into danger like it’s a fucking dance. His smile is the same as always too, infuriating, full of teeth.

I twist, using my knee to throw him off balance. He rolls, and I take the upper hand, my fist driving hard into his ribs. He laughs as he takes it, coughing out the impact like it’s a joke. “Missed you too,” he gasps, blood on his teeth.

I grip his shirt in both hands and drag him closer, my voice rough and furious. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

His blood-red grin widens. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Elle. The name doesn’t leave his mouth, but it’s there. In the smug tilt of his chin. I slam him back against the dirt. “You don’t get to say her name,” I snarl.

His grin falters for half a second. “You shouldn’t be pissed at me, Silver. You should be thanking me.”

“For what?”

“For taking care of her,” he spits. “While you fucking left, to go play little hero who takes down the drug operation.”

He coughs, choking on a laugh.

“Seriously, Sterling, what the hell were you thinking? You’ve burned down every goddamn supplier that kept me functioning. The only shit that kept me from breaking down day after day.”

I tighten my grip. “You mean the shit that made you a liability? What Clo gave you to keep you compliant?”

“I needed that,” he spits again. “You think you’re saving anyone? You’re not. You’re just cleaning up your guilt, one fire at a time.”

“You’re sick.”

“I was coping.”

My fist crashes into his face again, clean and brutal. I feel the cartilage shift beneath my knuckles. His forearm presses against my throat, trying to push me off.

“You look like shit, Sterling,” he taunts, dragging the back of his hand across his bloody lip. “Didn’t think our face could look like that, but damn, your brooding’s aged you.”

“Keep talking. I’ll rearrange your face to match the inside.”