Tall, Dark & Heartless (Pyte/Sentinel #3)(10)

"What the f**k did you do to her?" he roared, turning to attack him only to come to an abrupt halt when he came face to face with the barrel of a gun. He didn't need to look to know the gun was already cocked and ready.

It was a trap.

A f**king trap and he walked right into it, he thought with disgust.

Greg didn't hesitate in pulling the trigger, which was the only thing that saved him. If he'd hesitated even for a second Caine would have been on him instead of slamming backwards as the hot bullet tore through skin and bone as it made its journey through his head.

He felt himself drop back, falling limply on his side as his sight blacked out and white hot pain shot through his skull as it was mutilated along the bullet's passage until all he knew was pain and darkness.

**********

"How was that 'talk' for you?" Greg demanded, laughing. He pulled back his foot and sent it flying into Caine's stomach over and over again. "You're my bitch now, ass**le," he said, kicking Caine one last time in stomach before he pulled his phone out.

"Come get him," he said, unable to stop grinning. He'd waited twenty-five years to do that and it had been worth the wait. In fact, after Caine did what the Master wanted, Greg looked forward to doing this again, right before they got rid of him permanently.

His eyes darted over to the secret to his success and he damn near sighed with contentment. She was the key to everything, otherwise he would have killed the bitch years ago.

Even when they were kids he couldn't stand her. She'd been a little know-it-all bitch who always got in the way and had the rest of the kids fooled. They all thought she was so f**king cool because Caine talked to her and spent time with her. While he had to deal with proving himself to the other kids and getting his ass kicked on a daily basis no one dared to look sideways at Danni. She'd been untouchable.

The few times he'd tried to put the little bitch in her place had ended poorly for him thanks to her f**king lapdog. When he was a child, Greg knew that Caine was different. Unfortunately for him he hadn't known the full extent of Caine's abilities until it was too late.

When he was twelve he learned that Caine could hear just about anything from a mile away, if he was paying attention. It was how the bastard discovered Danni was trapped in an old pit hole deep in the woods. They'd been playing tag, the Sentinel version where they mixed training with fun, and while everyone else was running and doing their best to cover their tracks he'd followed the little brat, intent on teaching her a lesson. He couldn't believe his luck when she found an old pit.

He waited quietly as she walked around the edge. When she was leaning over the edge with her back to him he snuck up behind her as quietly as he could and just as she was about to turn he ran the last several feet separating them and shoved her.

The sounds of her falling and the accompanying screams had been music to his ears. He would have loved to sit there listening to her scream for help, but he knew what would happen to him if anyone discovered what he'd done so he ran. He ran to where he knew the rest of the kids were playing and circled around so it seemed that he came from the opposite direction. He made sure that no one could connect him with Danni's "accident."

To this day he still remembered the unholy roar that startled every single living creature for miles. Birds seemed to burst out of tree tops into the sky as animals scattered in a desperate rush for escape. Even the Sentinel adults were startled. They'd quickly gathered up all the children and escorted them through the woods with their weapons drawn.

While the other children had been scared he had to work damn hard not to smile. All he could think of was Danni's pitiful screams as he ran that mile back to the compound. Every pregnant woman and every child, Sentinel and human, were placed in the downstairs training room with guards set up at every exit, prepared to fight the rogue demon they thought was on the property, but Greg knew better.

He wasn't at all surprised when barely five minutes had passed since the lockdown and Caine came storming in with Danni crying in his arms. When Greg saw the makeshift splints on Danni's small arm and leg, a small snort of laughter escaped him before he could stop himself.

Caine's red eyes, which still scared everyone to this day, narrowed on him and Greg did his best to appear innocent, not that he was afraid. He knew his parents and every Sentinel in the compound would protect him from the crazed Pyte. Besides, no one had seen what he'd done so he knew he was in the clear. He watched with relish as Danni cried and screamed as they set her bones. He would have loved to watch them put her in casts, but by that point everyone had been ushered out of the room.

It wasn't until later that night when his parents were out on patrol that he learned very differently. He'd woken up to find a very angry Pyte hovering over him. Caine never touched him, but then again he didn't need to. The things that he promised to do to Greg if he ever touched Danni again had been enough to leave him shaking and crying in his freshly pissed soaked bed.

From that day on he maintained his distance from Danni, but he watched her. Always. His hatred for her only intensified after that day. For years he waited for an opportunity to get to her, but the Pyte was always there, always watching. When the two seemed to have a falling out he thought for sure the wait was over, but he learned very differently when he went to make his move on the bitch one night during training. It was the first time Caine made good on all those threats he made years earlier and beat the living shit out of him.