This Is Love, Baby (War & Peace #2)(12)

I have her.

I f*cking have her.

And the need to protect what’s mine is overwhelming. I won’t let this * hurt her anymore. That’s why this has to end now. He has to end now. I’m going to put a bullet between his eyes. Gabe Sharpe will never have the chance to put his hands on me again. And he’ll never have the power to hurt my girl. Not ever again.

He is dead.

I let anger—a newfound aspect of my personality—wash over me in a red, vicious wave. Images of what he did to her. Thoughts of what she went through at his sadistic hand. Nightmarish visions of the horrors she faced. All ripping and clawing at the inside of me, fueling me on. Feeding the rage to pounce on the monster. To f*cking destroy him.

The 9mm is still hot from when I fired it at him moments before. I’d felt invigorated the moment he jerked back when the bullet clipped his shoulder. I may not be the best marksman and I may not have landed my target, but I’d at least hit him. Weakened him. No longer was he the impenetrable force who was impossible to take down. This time, I wouldn’t miss my target. I will kill this motherf*cker.

Baylee grows eerily quiet behind me in the truck as I ascend the front steps of the cabin with the gun drawn and pointing toward the door. I wish I’d ordered her to lock the doors but there’s no time. He’s inside, no doubt, planning his own attack against us.

An attack he’ll never carry out.

When I reach the front door, I waste no time and twist the knob. Once inside, I listen for movement. A scuffling in the back draws my attention. As much as I’d love to taunt him, demand answers, and make him suffer at the hand of my endless torture, there’s no time.

With slow, measured steps, I make my way through the small living room and peek my head into what appears to be a kitchen.

“Stop right there, * boy.”

My 9mm is trained on him but unfortunately, he has one pointed at me as well.

“This ends today, Gabe,” I snap. A quiver in my arm makes the gun shake and his calculating eyes zero in on the trembling of my weapon. Surely mistaking it for fear. I’m not afraid, though. What he’s seeing is the uncontrollable rage that quakes through me.

His laugh is deep and echoes in the small kitchen. “We both know how this ends, kid,” he snarls, the short-lived humor in his voice gone. “I kill you and then I f*ck my girl.”

“She’s not your girl, you f*cking idiot.”

A dark, amused eyebrow lifts and he smiles. “You don’t honestly think she’s yours, do you?” he taunts. “You’re not enough for her. You weren’t then, and you sure as f*ck aren’t now. She needs a man. A man who can protect her.” He looks me up and down, and curls his lip in disgust, as if his findings leave much to be desired. “A man who can at least eat her * and hold her attention while he does it. I’m sure even that freak has that on you, since she seems to think she’s actually in love with him.” His mouth lifts into a sinister smirk. “She tell you about him, kid?” He emphasizes the word kid. Another taunt. Another jab at my expense about how I’ll never be good enough for Baylee. Same shit I’ve gotten from Tony for nearly two f*cking years.

His words cast a shadow of doubt over my heart. There’s no way Baylee could love the sick f*ck who bought her. She’s strong and smart. If anything, she may have played the role for her own survival, but she’d never fall for someone who could be a part of something so heinous.

“Fuck you, you rapist, pedophile piece of shit!” I fire off a shot but he’s already charging for me.

He lands a splintering punch across my jaw that momentarily dazes me. My gun is still in my grip so I attempt to shove it against his rib cage, but he rolls the moment I squeeze the trigger. A window shatters as the shot hits it instead.

Gabe underestimates me and I twist in his grip to where I’m on top. I free my fist and blast him in the nose. Payback’s a bitch, *. The satisfying crunch fuels me and I slam my fist forward again. This time, he hits me in the ribs, knocking the breath out of me.

It’s just enough.

One stalled second to catch my breath and he’s back on top of me.

Pop after pop with his fist across my jaw, he overtakes me and I start to weaken.

Shit!

“She wants him, * boy,” he spits out as his hand finds my throat.

He’s a goddamned liar and I won’t let him rile me. I twist and scream in rage. The grip on my throat tightens and his laugh is maniacal.

“She f*cked that freak and loved—” he starts, but a crack of something impacting his skull shuts him up. His dark eyes drop closed as he collapses on top of me.

A baseball bat wielding, crazed angel stands before us.

I’m dizzied and confused but I know it’s Baylee—in all her furious glory—standing before me.

“D-Did he hurt you?” she stammers out as she drops the bat to push Gabe off of me.

I help her shove him away and blink away the daze. “I’m fine. Where’s my gun? I’m going to kill him.”

When I start for it, she launches for me. I’m shocked at her strength as she tackles me. Her pretty blue eyes are wild with fury as she pushes me back down to the floor. The gun is forgotten as I focus on how it feels to have her long legs straddled around me.

God, I f*cking missed her.

“What are you doing?”