The Virgin Next Door by Stasia Black

39

MACK

Mack didn’t even havetime for a full thought before—

SLAM. Bone’s weight hit him full force and knocked him back into the water. The knife. Block the arm holding the knife.

Shit! Burning pain lit up Mack’s left forearm. Fucker had sliced him. Still. Better his arm than his throat. Mack wrestled to get hold of Bone’s wrist, both of them sinking deeper into the water as they struggled for control of the knife.

There. He finally grabbed Bone’s wrist. He tried to elbow Bone’s throat but upside down in the disorienting dark water, Mack could barely tell his ass from his ankles. He struck out several times, once even making contact with… something.

But then a thick arm came around his throat. Fuck. Bone had gotten behind him somehow. Mack held on tighter than ever to the wrist holding the knife.

He was short on air, though. Seriously short. It wasn’t like he’d gotten much advance notice of Bone’s attack. If he didn’t get a breath soon, he’d pass out. And be easy fucking pickings.

Then Bone would go for Liam and Calla. Liam might be able to hold his own in a fight, but Bone had a knife. And Calla was still handcuffed to that damn gurney.

No. He would not let anything happen to them because of his fucked up past.

With a roar into the water, Mack jerked Bone’s hand holding the knife up and stabbed it into Bone’s other arm around his throat.

Bone’s grip immediately loosened and he ripped the knife out of his own flesh. Mack took the chance to swim to the surface and grab a huge breath. But Bone was only more enraged. He came at Mack, knife swinging.

Mack yanked the gun out of the back of his pants and he pulled the trigger right in Bone’s face.

Bone stopped, wincing. But then he laughed when nothing happened. Shit. The waterlogged gun hadn’t fired.

Mack felt his eyes widen as he swam frantically backwards.

“Think fast.”

Then a soaking medical duffel bag hit Bone in the head from behind, throwing off his attack on Mack. Bone swung around, tossing off the blue duffel but getting tangled in the straps. Mack wasn’t about to lose the opportunity.

He grabbed Bone’s knife arm from behind, wrenching it back with enough force to— Crack. Like the sound of a wooden baseball bat smacking a ball. There went Bone’s bone.

He screamed and dropped the knife.

He still struggled when Mack grabbed and shoved his face under water but he was weak. After the blood loss and then his arm being broken, for once, he was weak and Mack was strong.

“Who’s my best little bitch whore? Bone’s breath on Mack’s ear while he raped him. “You love being my little baby boy, don’t you?”

“Go fuck yourself in hell,” Mack spat.

Bone fucked him even more mercilessly. “You’re clenching on my cock like you love it. You’re my favorite, you know that? Out of all the bitches I’ve ever had, you’re my favorite. My special little baby boy.

Mack shoved him even further beneath the water’s surface.

He’d never hurt Mack again. He’d never hurt anyone again.

“Mack. Mack!”

Mack ignored Liam shouting his name. Until Liam rammed into him from the side, forcing him to let Bone up for air.

Bone gasped as soon as his head hit the surface.

“What the fuck are you thinking?” Mack shouted, grabbing Bone and shoving him underneath again.

But Liam just shook his head, mouth agape. “You can’t just kill him like this. Listen,” he gestured at the road. “The cops are almost here.”

“We’ll say it’s self-defense.”

“You’re going to make Calla lie for you?” Liam demanded. “After everything she’s been through today. All because of you?”

Mack kept shaking his head. “You don’t know what he did.” He spoke through his teeth.

Liam’s face softened. Compassion. It took Mack aback. As did Liam’s next words. “From where you shot him, I can guess.” Liam moved closer. “He’ll never hurt anyone like that again.”

Mack looked over and saw Calla watching them, sitting up, obviously tense as she waited to see what Mack would do. Beautiful, innocent Calla, who deserved so much better than to witness anything as ugly as this.

“Do this and you might go back to jail,” Liam went on, voice pleading. “Don’t do it. Choose Calla. Choose me.”

Mack looked at Liam. His handsome, boyish features were strained with earnestness.

“Fuck,” Mack shouted, lifting a gasping and sputtering Bone back out of the water and hauling him over toward the incline where the reservoir met the road, far away from Calla. If Bone tried anything else, Mack would still be happy to bash his head in with some of the smooth stones near the base of the road.

The sirens were louder than ever, right over head. Liam swam back over to Calla and started to climb up the muddy, rocky embankment.

“Down here!” Liam yelled. “We’re down here. We need help. And bolt cutters!”