The Lies Between Us (The Devil's Dust #4)(67)

“Well, I’m afraid that’s not up to you. She is a threat, not only to me, but also to my brother.” Calhoun looks up from Bull to us. “My brother is Senator Calhoun, and if word gets out that I’m dirty, he’s ruined.”

I sigh heavily. This cannot be happening.

“I advise you to reconsider your options. Cherry doesn’t want to burn you, she just wants her kid,” Bull tries to negotiate. The judge laughs and reaches for a tumbler filled with amber liquid.

“No deal. Now get out.”

I grab my knife from its holster and step toward Judge Calhoun.

“I’m about to make you reconsider,” I snarl.

“Whoa!” Bull jumps up and grabs my arm.

“You kill him, you’ll go down. He has cameras everywhere, and we drove up to his f*cking house. Witnesses, Lip.” I flick my gaze from Bull to the judge.

“I’m not about to walk away,” I inform.

Bull scoffs. “Me either, son. I’m not saying we aren’t going to do what we have to. I’m just saying we need to go into this slowly.” Bull smiles wickedly. He doesn’t want to kill the judge; he wants to torture him into reconsidering.

I nod, getting his point. The judge laughs a full belly laugh, thinking he’s won. I step forward, grip the butt of my knife and slam it into the top of his hand, anchoring it into the arm of his chair.

His mouth pops open, his eyes wide as saucers. His hand releases the glass of amber, and it shatters into a million little shards as it collides with the floor.

He jumps upright in his seat and starts to heave in excruciating pain.

“All right, let’s try it this way,” I taunt.

“Kill the hit on Cherry,” I suggest. He heaves again and tries to grab the knife, but whimpers when his fingers apply more pressure. Looking down, he shakes his head.

“No, I won’t do it,” he croaks.

Bobby walks up and pulls a knife that looks damn near identical to mine out of his pocket.

“You wanna try again?” Bobby smirks. The judge looks up and his face goes pale with fear, but he doesn’t give in.

“Your loss.” Bobby shrugs and thrusts his knife down toward the judge’s other hand.

“Wait!” Judge Calhoun screams and Bobby stops, the blade of the knife a hair’s width away from the judge’s palm.

“Oh, did we have a change of heart?” Bull grins.

“Fine, I’ll lift it,” the judge pants. “But you’d better keep her mouth shut or the deal is off. She’ll die before she ever sees a trial against me.” His brows furrow.

“The kid. We want the kid, too,” I add. Bull turns his head, looking at me like I’ve lost it.

“I can’t, that’s all I got.” Judge Calhoun shakes his head.

I step forward and push down on the knife, enjoying the sound of the blade crunching through tendons and veins. He hollers out and tries to grab my hand to stop my assault.

“We want the kid,” I repeat.

“Okay, o-okay. I’ll draw up the pa-paperwork, I’ll—” he stammers. “I’ll get you the damn kid, just get this f*cking knife out of my hand!” he screams.

I hunch down, my eyes meeting his dull ones. Grabbing the knife and fisting it hard, I twist the blade sideways, making sure it leaves a scar.

“I want this to be a reminder the next time you slam that gavel down. Make sure you’re being honest and doing what you think is right by law and not by greed. This scar will remind you of why you’re on that stand, and what your duties really are, and that greed will only grant you pain and scar your soul in the end.”

Just when I think he’s about to pass out, I pull the blade out and wipe it on my jeans.

“So, we’re good?” Bull cocks his head to the side, eyeing the judge.

“We’re good. Now get the f*ck out!” Judge Calhoun points at his front door.

“Great.” Bull smiles wolfishly.

Walking out, Bull cups my shoulder and smiles at me. “You did good, kid. It takes a man not to kill another who wronged his family.”

I smirk, but inside I’m on fire. I want to kill that bastard, and as much as Bull doesn’t want me to, I will one day. That’s a promise.


CHERRY

Pacing the floor, I bite on my nails. They’ve been gone a long time. Worry sears through my chest like a hot blade.

“Girl, you’re making me dizzy watching you go back and forth. Sit down and have a shot or something.” Dani sighs, sitting on a stool.

I shake my head. “I can’t. I can’t stay here any longer.” I head toward the door, and Dani jumps from her seat.

“Cherry, you can’t leave. Orders are you have to stay here!” Dani yells, following close behind me.

I push the doors open and walk toward the club’s SUV. Seeing that my car was blown up, it will have to do.

“Cherry!” Dani screams, walking out of the club. “You can’t go by yourself, it’s not safe!”

I turn to look over my shoulder at Dani and slam into something hard. I trip backward, nearly falling on my ass. Looking at what I ran into, I find a man. He’s hard to make out with the shadows of the night smothering his features. An evil laugh sounds from behind the figure, and I look toward it, noticing a bunch of motorcycles and other dark shadows.