I’ll do it again. I’ll fight until all the breath leaves my body.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Dimitri

Fuck you, Hendrix,” I bark, slamming my fist into his desk.

He glares up at me. “Don’t take your temper out on me, boy. You want to make me pay, you do it after we’ve found her. You care about her at all, you’ll keep it the fuck together until she’s safe.”

I grind my jaw. “I care about her more than you, fucker.”

He stands, sliding around the desk and charging toward me. His hand lashes out when he reaches me, and connects with my jaw. I roar in pain and retaliate quickly, slamming my fist into his midsection. He bellows and takes two steps back, but I don’t give him a break. My fist swings around and hits him in the side of the head, causing his vision to blur. I know this, because I’ve been hit in the exact same location. He blinks and swings his fist, hitting me square in the ear. My hearing begins to fade and a loud, piercing squealing sound takes its place.

I sink to the ground, and gather my bearings, before spinning around and launching toward his legs. He goes down hard, taking me with him. We land on the floor with a thump, growling and hissing, spitting curses. “You’re a no good son of a bitch,” I bellow. “You deserve to fucking pay for everything you did.”

“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing?” he roars. “Making me fucking pay?”

“I haven’t even begun to give you what it is you deserve.”

He flips me onto my back, pressing a hand to my throat. I gasp and struggle, launching my fist into his stomach. He stares down at me, eyes wild. “You’ve made my life a living fucking hell for this past month. You’re not even givin’ me a fuckin’ chance to speak.”

“There’s nothing to say,” I snarl. “You’re a no good piece of shit who ruined my life.”

“I didn’t fuckin’ ruin your life,” he barks, pressing his hand in harder. “If you listened for five seconds you would know that.”

“I gave you everything,” I roar. “Everything. I trusted you. I loved you. You gave me something when I had nothing and you let me down. You fuckin’ let me down.”

His eyes flash and he lets my neck go, leaning back. I lunge at him again, tackling him to the floor and driving another fist into his face.

“Stop it!”

I hear the sound of a female voice, but I don’t stop. I lift my body and bring it down over his, causing a loud oomph to leave his mouth. He brings his fists up and over my sides, hitting me furiously. I feel my ribs crack. Fuck. I rear my fist back and bring it down right over his groin. He roars, his face scrunching in pain. I’m panting and blood is filling my mouth. I look up and see his girl, Indi, gaping at us.

“What is wrong with you two?” she screams. “Jess is out there, God knows where, and you two are fighting.”

Hendrix glares at me, ignoring her. “Don’t you ever tell me you care more about that girl than me. You couldn’t possibly know her, in the short time you’ve had her, the way I know her. I was the one who found her half-naked, covered in blood and completely broken all those years ago. I put her back together. You know only what you see now.”

“No,” I grind out, clenching my fists. “I see what I am in her, and you’re right, I didn’t put her back together.” I stare down at my trembling fists for a second before looking back at him. “But she put me back together, and that’s a connection you will never understand.”

“I fuckin’ understand, more than you ever will.”

I snarl at him, raising my fist.

“Hit me again, boy, and it’ll be the last thing you do.”

“Stop it!” Indi screams.

Once again we don’t listen.

Anger is filling my veins, making me wild. I lunge at him once more, but he’s quick, too quick. He rolls to the side, and by the time I reposition myself and turn, he’s got a gun pressed to my head. We’re both panting, both wild and angry.

“Do it,” I roar. “Take me out of your life like you always fuckin’ wanted to.”

“I never wanted you out of my life,” he growls. “But you won’t let me fuckin’ speak long enough to tell you what went down.”

“I don’t want to hear your fuckin’ lies!”

He presses the gun harder into my head. “You want me to take your head off?”

“What I want,” I snarl, “is to see you dead.”

“If you wanted me dead, Dimitri, you would have killed me by now.”

“Give me that fuckin’ gun, and we’ll see how this ends.”

Hendrix slowly removes the gun and hands it to me, causing my eyes to widen. He steps back, putting his arms out. Indi screams, but he puts a hand up, stopping her. “You want to kill me, Dimitri? Do it. It’s clear to me you’re never going to listen to what I have to say. You’re going to spend the rest of what is a perfectly good life chasing a man because you can’t get over your shit.”

Rage swarms through me, causing my head to pound. I lift the gun, blocking out Indi’s screams. My hand begins to tremble and sweat trickles down my forehead. This is what I’ve always wanted. I’ve always wanted to take his life. To make him pay for what he did. His eyes hold mine, his face expressionless.

I swallow, feeling like sirens are going off in my head.