Page 81 of Callous Shot

Pausing, I held my breath and listened. From somewhere up ahead, I could make out the faint sounds of a scuffle, and I crept forwards. Then a familiar voice cried out in pain, and I broke into a run.

I entered the room at a dead sprint, my gaze arrowing straight to a familiar figure being restrained by a huge giant of a man, his bicep bulging around Daniel’s torso as he yanked a blood-covered blade out of my little demon’s side. It was a relief to lean into my instincts when the rest of me was screaming to get out of there. Tuning into them, the way I did on the ice, my mind instantly calmed, calculating the situation in an instant.

With no hesitation, I pulled my knife from my pocket and lunged forwards, slamming it straight into the man’s cheek. He roared, his arm slacking around Daniel, who wasted no time in getting out of his hold, wrestling the bloody knife from his grip, and plunging it straight into his eye socket. Fluid burst from his eyeball, spraying over Daniel’s balaclava, and I gagged, but Daniel didn’t even blink, throwing himself on top of the screaming man as he fell to the floor. He got the man’s head between his palms and, without missing a beat, bashed his head against the floor once, then twice, and the man fell still beneath him.

With a groan, he climbed to his feet and then launched himself at me, his whole body trembling as he shoved me back against the wall into the shadows, forcing me down to the floor. “What the fuck are you doing here? They can’t see you,” he whispered urgently. “You need to go, now.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I hissed. “Don’t waste your breath arguing.”

“Fucking stubborn asshole.” His voice shook. “Wait here. Don’t speak, and whatever you do, don’t show your face.” He released me, and I did as he asked, ducking into the corner of the room next to a filing cabinet. From beneath my hood, I watched Daniel stride across the room, punching a man straight in the face without even pausing for breath, only coming to a stop when he reached another hooded, masked man. The man nodded at whatever Daniel said to him, unzipping a small bag he was wearing. Wincing, Daniel pulled aside the torn fabric where he’d been stabbed, and the guy quickly applied something from a tube before covering the area with gauze and tape. After giving the guy a quick nod, Daniel held out his hand, and the guy handed him a small bundle of fabric.

By the time he made it back over to me, he’d punched the same guy again, this time breaking his nose—I’d heard the crunch—and my dick was half-hard in my jeans, despite the danger. Watching Daniel Hoyton in his element, working in such a quick, competent way, was hot as fuck.

“Put that on,” he panted, throwing the fabric at me. I wasted no time in tugging the balaclava over my head, and when my face was covered, he exhaled shakily. “Don’t speak. No one can know who you are.” Immediately turning his back on me, he ran to help one of the balaclava-clad men in restraining a guy dressed in a suit that looked far too expensive for his surroundings. Shouts filled the air amidst the thuds of flesh hitting flesh and the crackle of Tasers. One of the remaining men closed in on me, and I launched myself upright, delivering a savage left hook to his chin. I put all my force into it, and he toppled over instantly, crashing to the carpet.

“Nice work.” Daniel appeared in front of me, his blue eyes sparkling behind his balaclava. “I guess you really have been holding back when you fight me.”

“I could say the same about you,” I murmured, nodding towards the unconscious man on the floor. Daniel grimaced and then cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck over his hood.

“Uh, yeah. Uh…you might wanna leave now. We need to interrogate a few people, and it isn’t gonna be pretty.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Please.”

“No.” I folded my arms over my chest, staring him down. “Don’t waste your breath arguing.”

“Stubborn fucking asshole!” He whirled around, stomping over to a tall guy who was incapacitating the man in the suit, twisting his arm behind his back. There was a loud crack, and the man screamed.

“Courtesy of the Hoyton Firm,” the guy drawled. “That one’s for Neil.”

“And this.” Daniel’s gloved fist glinted as he swung it back, and his knuckleduster connected with the man’s ribs, making him howl in pain.

The tall guy released his grip, and when the man dropped to the carpet, screaming, he sighed. “Listen to me. You’re going to tell us what we need to know, otherwise we are going to make the rest of your life very short and very, very painful.”

“I ain’t telling you nothing!”

“Wrong answer.” The guy crouched down next to the writhing man. He took his hand, almost gently and sharply twisted his wrist. There was another snapping sound, and I winced. Daniel glanced over at me, his eyes wide and anxious, while the tall guy bent lower, ignoring the howls of pain coming from the man on the carpet. “Want to try again?”

“Fuck. You.”

“Little lordling?”

Daniel shot me one last anxious glance before he turned away. “It’ll be less painful if you answer his questions.” When the man still refused to speak, he sighed, pulling out a long, thin blade. “One last chance.”

The man grabbed at him, but Daniel evaded him easily, plunging the blade straight through his palm and into the carpet beneath. A red stain began to spread around his pinned hand as he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

“Nailed it,” Daniel said, and the tall guy chuckled before cocking his head and speaking rapidly into what I guessed was an earpiece beneath his balaclava. When he was finished, he turned back to Daniel, lowering his voice.

“The others need help. Ready to go?”

“Ugh. I wish we’d brought the masks with the mouth holes. I hate talking through this thing. I keep getting a mouthful of material.”

The guy pointedly cleared his throat. “D.”

Daniel straightened up, wincing. “Yeah. Ready.” His gaze flicked to mine. “You stay here.” I folded my arms over my chest, staring him down, and he growled under his breath. “Fine. Stay close, and don’t do anything stupid.” After helping the others restrain the men they’d apprehended, shooting me a look that warned me not to interfere, he followed the tall guy out of the room. I jogged over to them, falling in behind him. Two of their group stayed behind, presumably to keep an eye on things, and the other two came up behind me. No one asked who I was, thankfully, clearly trusting Daniel’s judgement.

We jogged down a long corridor, pausing every now and then for someone to confer via their earpiece, and ended up pushing out through a fire exit, ending up in a car park surrounded by high walls covered in graffiti.