Page 16 of Run Little Killer
RHETT
A faint blush creeps across Lennon's face as she turns and heads into the garage, seeking caffeine. I brazenly stare at the way her hips sway, spandex clad ass bouncing with each step. I’m not the only one watching– Nix slowly swipes a hand across his chin and I elbow him, the two of us shifting our attention back to Kurt.
"You been running for a while?" he asks, puffing out his chest in an attempt to stand taller.
"Long enough," I reply, squaring my shoulders. I'm six-five and his head's barely past my chest; no amount of posturing can make him look threatening against me.
The fact that Mav said this job was a favor to a friend, paired with Kurt’s attitude, tells me he got burned and that's why we're here. This profession isn't exactly filled with boy scouts and law abiding citizens. Some of us just don't shit where we eat by ripping off the loads we’re escorting.
"Guess we'll see," he murmurs, face stoic as his suspicious gaze slides from me to Nix and back again. "Can't be worse than the last crew. "
I jerk a nod, already tired of this conversation. Kurt may have his reservations about us, but it’s not our job to hold his fucking hand and reassure him. We’re here to do a protection run, clean and simple.
"So, we've got the route,” I grumble. ”Any specifics we need to know about cargo?"
"No particulars," he says as he relaxes back, leaning a shoulder against the roll up garage door. "Half a dozen crates, all packed and stacked and ready to roll out."
"We'll ride suicide behind the truck," I say, lowering my shoulders.
"And we'll agree upon a distress signal for the driver," Nix adds.
"Speaking of the driver, he's great behind the wheel. Only stops if he has to, but…" Kurt pauses, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"Spit it out," Nix snaps, a sharp edge to his voice.
"He's a little... unbalanced ."
"What do you mean?" I question.
"He's impulsive, and once he latches onto an idea or a task, he's relentless until he gets it." Kurt lets out a nervous laugh. "That's why he's so good at driving… but if he gets distracted, sometimes it's a little hard to get him back on course."
"So, on top of watching the load, we have to babysit the fucker?" Nix scoffs, folding his arms across his chest.
I cut him a glare, the asshole just shrugging his shoulders. This is why I take the lead when it comes to business.
"It'll be fine," Kurt reassures. "He needs the cash, so that'll keep him focus–"
"Was that someone screaming?" Nix asks, interrupting Kurt and looking towards the garage .
We all fall quiet, the faint sounds of muffled shouts reaching my ears.
My blood runs cold, pulse hammering in recognition. Lennon .
My boots thud against the concrete as I charge for the door, Nix and Kurt right behind me.
Panic rolls through me as I swing my gaze around the inside of the garage looking for her, but she's not anywhere in sight.
A muffled thud sounds from behind the closed bathroom door and my hands curl into fists as I stalk closer.
Lennon shrieks and my jaw tightens, teeth grinding hard enough to shatter a molar.
I wasn't there for Tess when she needed me. That guilt will never fully dissolve, but it'll be over my rotting corpse that someone touches Lennon and lives to tell about it.
She's fucking mine.
"Lennon!" I shout as I kick in the door, the cheap wood splitting as it bounces off the wall. Her red-rimmed eyes go wide as she stares up at me, but there's no relief in the moment. Some red-headed fuck knocks her back and my vision tinges red, a primal urge to protect her rocketing through me.
Hot pin-pricks of rage weave across my flesh as I step forward without an ounce of hesitation, grip onto the ginger’s clammy skin and jerk his head to the right. Bones snap, his entire body going slack as I let go. His body folds to the floor, unmoving as blood leaks from his stomach.
Did she stab him?
I snap my head up to find Lennon standing there with her chest heaving, blood trailing down her neck, gaze fixated on the man on the floor, her bloody knuckles whitening around the hilt of the knife.
She fucking stabbed him– alot. Guy looks like a goddamn human colander.
"Little killer?" Nix murmurs as he steps out from behind me, taking a cautious step closer and showing her his palms.
She doesn’t move. Her lips part in the slightest, but no words come out.
"Lennon," Nix tries again, tone even softer as he closes the distance between them and extends a hand. "Give me the knife."
Her head snaps up, the same distant look haunting her eyes as it did after her nightmare. "No," she says with a shake of her head, her hand gripping the hunting knife trembling.
"Darlin', give him the knife," I say calmly.
"Stop!" she shouts, jumping back and waving the knife out in front of her.
Why does she look so hot when she’s being stabby?
"Easy now," Nix soothes, reaching out again to try to disarm her.
"No!" she cries out, swinging her arm wildly.
Nix lunges forward with an annoyed grunt, snatching her wrist and yanking the knife from her hold. "Fuck me," he spits as a rivulet of blood blossoms from a cut on his palm where the blade caught him.
"No, no, no," Lennon whispers between strangled breaths, eyes wide as she inspects her blood covered hands. A tear slips out the corner of her eye, her shoulders shuddering as she inhales sharply.
Just like after the nightmare, something about seeing her like this makes my stomach sink.
It's like the lights have been turned off– she's still Lennon, but only in the way of physical presence.
Her snarky attitude and feral smile that makes my dick ache have been completely stripped away, leaving her hollow and scared.
"What should we do?" Nix asks as he shoots me a sideways glance, tone laced with concern.
He doesn't show his feelings like most people– or at all, really.
But when he cares about someone or something, he's loyal to a fault, always willing to risk himself in the process. He’s put his neck on the line for me plenty of times.
I've seen the spark between him and Lennon– hell I've had a front row seat to the tension– and I can tell he sees something special in her. We both do.
"I know what she needs," I murmur, shooting Nix a wink before taking a tentative step closer to our girl. She doesn’t so much as flinch when I lay my hands over hers, holding them between us. Her chin slowly lifts, vulnerability etched into her gaze. "You're okay, darlin'," I say calmly.
"He cornered me,” she starts, voice faint and raspy. "He called me crazy. He knew . He shoved his hand down..." she trails off with a shudder.
I reach up, cupping her chin and tilting it. My eyes scan over the blood spatter on her face, looking for its source as I ask, "Are you hurt?"
"It's not mine," she breathes.
Now where have I heard that before?
“Well, not all of it,” she says, fingertips lightly grazing over a shallow gash.
My thumb swipes through the blood on her cheek, her muscles tensing as I trace over the scar. She starts to pull back, but I don't let her, my thumb and forefinger pinching her chin to hold her in place. "Don't hide from me."
I lean down, lips skimming the column of her neck, pressing a gentle kiss to the cut and pausing by her ear. "There isn't an inch of you that doesn't make me hard."
Her throat bobs with a swallow as I suck her ear lobe into my mouth, teeth scraping across her skin. She sighs, her rigid spine relaxing more and more as I pepper kisses down to her collarbone.
"Rhett..." she rasps, arching her neck to give me better access.
“Yeah?” I murmur, sliding my hand beneath the hem of her bloodstained shirt. We’ll have to get her another.
“Shit, this is bad," Kurt mumbles from behind me. Nix is quick to shut him up.
I haven’t forgotten about either of them or the two hundred and fifty pounds of problem laying dead at my feet. But I saw how easy Lennon was to forget her nightmare the other night, and I’m choosing to take care of my girl before business. Fuck the consequences.
Soft mewls vibrate from her throat as I push up her bra and palm her tit. Her hands trail across my biceps, coming to rest on my shoulders as she pulls me closer. She moans, tossing her head back when I pinch her nipple and roll it between my fingers.
“Keep making those sounds, darlin’, and the first time I fuck you senseless will be in a dirty ass bathroom next to a corpse,” I growl.