Chapter 17

I could've killed him. I wanted to kill him. But he was more useful to me alive than dead. There were answers I needed from him.

Was he Hawthorne's follower or just a psycho idolizing another psycho? Was Bleeding Heart working alone or with someone else? These questions allowed him to continue breathing.

Bleeding Heart pushed himself up from the ground as he prepared to charge at me again. "If you want to die, then keep exerting energy. You'll bleed to death."

He growled and glared at me. Bleeding Heart didn't know how much restraint it took for me not to destroy him right now. He had put his hands on Eva, and that would've gotten him killed immediately.

I'd never experienced fury the way I felt just now when I found him dragging Eva. I could pump a hundred bullets into him. But his death would be an easy escape for him. He'd killed too many people, and he needed to suffer first.

The anger that surged in me stemmed from something primitive, something deep inside my heart. I looked at Eva, expecting to see fear on her face. Instead, I saw a strong woman glaring at a killer. Her hands clenched, and I wanted to know what went on in her mind. But that could wait for later.

"What the hell happened here?" Sean approached with three other officers.

"He threatened Eva, and I shot him." My time at the shooting range had improved my skills, and the Brookline Police Department knew I was licensed to carry.

"He killed Dennis." Eva leaned into me, her body still quivering.

Sean gestured to his men to apprehend Bleeding Heart.

"This isn't over!" Bleeding Heart laughed and winced. "You're hurting my arm!"

"Shut the fuck up or I'm going to shove a bouquet of bleeding hearts into your mouth," replied the officer with the red hair.

Eva whispered to me, "He shouldn't do that if he wants Bleeding Heart alive. Those flowers are poisonous if ingested."