Chapter 4

• COLT
• Unbelievable!
• “JESUS, GAEL.” I pointed at her. “Did you check her arms? She has bruises and needle pricks.” “This woman is a drug addict.”
• “What?” The woman spoke, lifting her chin. Her gaze directly met mine. Her surreal blue eyes widened in shock.
• I felt an odd sense down my spine. My heart started to beat faster the longer we stared, reading each other’s thoughts.
• She’s dangerous as hell... and definitely pretty now that her face was clean.
• I could see every tiny detail on her face—the dilatation of her pupils, her light brown soft angled eyebrows, her small upturned nose, high cheekbones, and her pale droopy lips. She had this pixie-cut bronze hair that looked like she did it alone.
• “We don’t have the luxury to do drugs here, twig. I wonder how you maintain your supply and where were you really come from. You must have a wide of resources, huh?” My sarcasm had her eyes flooded with pain and unshed tears.
• Oddly, I felt guilty for calling her twig. And I hated that feeling, but I was just honest. Or should I have kept it to myself?
• “This is not what you think it is.” She wiped her tears with bony, trembling fingers.
• “Explain then.”
• “Colt, that won’t be necessary. Give her a break,” Gael interrupted.
• “I’m just protecting our people.”
• “So do I.”
• “Fine.” I snatched the necklace from her hand, which I planned to do—to distract her and grab it. I wanted to know how far she would fight for this. “Collateral.”
• “Give that to me,” she ordered. Her voice was stronger than I thought she could—it was authoritative but calm.
• “Not a chance. You can stay here, but this necklace.” I raised it. “I will keep it with me until you decide to leave the camp.”
• “No. You won’t dare take that away from me!”
• “Oh, I dare you.” I turned and walked away from her.
• “Colt,” Gael called my name.
• Then it happened so quickly, and indeed, I did not see it coming.
• Swiftly pulling the knife from my right thigh strap, I aimed at her carotid artery.
• My adrenaline spiked.
• I could feel the strong pulse against my shining blade—she tensed against it.
• “You slit my neck.” She pressed my handgun on my groin. Great! “Your balls and junk will decorate this entire floor.”
• “And your blood will spill all over, my dear.”
• “Give me my necklace back, Colton, or your ticket gets punched!”
• “It’s Colt.”
• “Who cares when you’re dead?” Oh, yeah, why do I give a damn? Was it because I called her twig? Funny that a woman so thin could throw sarcasm while being threatened with a knife.
• “Give it back to her, and stop this shit between you two! From now on, you, Colt, and you, Iris, should work on your differences,” Gael barked.
• I kept my eyes pinned on the woman who still had a gun on my crotch. Her eyes were unbelievably wide and... expressive.
• “She stole my gun and threatened me. Can’t you see it? This tiny little thing is dangerous and indomitable! You made a mistake, Gael.” If this woman had brought danger to this camp, she would pay for it with her life.
• “It’s your fault your junk is threatened by a woman you called twig. Pull the thing away from her neck and give her back the necklace!”
• My nose flared with anger, but this woman, Iris, or whatever her real name was, just stared back at me with a devoid expression, increasing the pressure against my groin with a brow cocked in a challenge.
• “Busted balls and your tiny dick or my necklace.”
• I almost wanted to smirk when she said tiny. See for yourself, woman, then tell me if it’s tiny or not. But I held on to my expression.
• Uncomfortable, I shifted my hips.
• “Uh-uh, be careful, dear.” Then two clicks followed—she pulled the hammer and unlocked the safety.
• “Iris, don’t do this. You can kill us both, but you can’t get out of here alive.” Gael’s voice softened, but the tension in his tone didn’t go unnoticed.
• “I’m not gonna kill you, Gael. You have my word. You could shoot me to protect this asshole, but why haven’t you done it yet?”
• “Because I know you just want back what’s yours,” Gael answered.
• She increased the pressure this time. “My necklace, Colton.”
• “Do you like my dick so much that you can’t take your hand off it?” I smirked.
• Her closeness made me feel like I wanted to reach out and touch her. Jesus Christ! What’s wrong with me?
• “To blow off?” Her brow rose. “Anticipation is killing me.”
• I huffed at her threat. “How many people have you killed, Blue... Iris?”
• Her eyes suddenly widened, her lips parted, then she gulped, but the gun remained pressed against my groin. “H-how d-did you know?” Her question was hesitant and wary.
• “My mom had a flower shop.” Huh! I could distract her. “Of all the flowers, she chose an iris to bring home daily and placed it in my room. As annoying as it is, I liked the blue one. Your eyes are blue like an iris flower. Somehow, they remind me of her.”
• Her lashes were lighter, almost blonde. She might have dyed her hair. She had tiny freckles scattered all over her nose and under her eyes.
• “Oh?”
• “Yes. Now, my deal. You can stay and pull that gun away from me, or you die.” I pressed a little harder against her neck. “One wrong move and your blood will splatter all over the floor. Since you’re pale, you’ll die in a matter of seconds, Iris.”
• “You’ll die with me, Colton. That’s a promise.”
• “Jesus, the two of you are starting to annoy me. Just shut it already, and I have something to do here! And you, Colt, you finally found your match.”
• “The hell I am.”
• “He’s arrogant.”
• “And you’re bitchy for a visitor.”
• “My necklace.”
• “My gun.”
• “I promise I won’t tell anyone that a certain twig threatened your junk.” She grinned, spreading a devilish smile at me. Then she whispered, “Your secret is safe with me, Colton.”
• My blood rushed through my head in anger that I could almost see red.
• “Fascinating how I could make you blush easily.”
• “I’m not blushing.” Absentmindedly, I wiped my cheek.
• “I know you have a rep, Colton, but it would be worse if a twig blows off your balls, and that would not be so great for them to tell that the almighty Colton—”
• “Stop! Stop!” I pushed the necklace right into her chest. “Have it your way, and stay away from me!” And I walked away, defeated.
• “Just so you know, I haven’t killed anyone!” she yelled. “But you don’t wanna be the first on my list, do you?”
• “I don’t give a damn. Just fu—back off!”