Scarlet Angel Collection

6. The First

What is murder? Is it the taking of an innocent life? Is it killing a scumbag who really deserved it? Even if he killed you first?

What is murder? Is it the taking of an innocent life? Is it killing a scumbag who really deserved it? Even if he killed you first?* * *

Scarlett stared at the motionless body lying face down on the floor. She thought it funny that she would notice the man"s grimy plaid shirt, stained jeans and sweat-soaked hair. Looking over the body, she realized she didn"t even know the name of the man she just killed.

Or did I?

Or did I?Her attacker"s back rose and fell in shallow breaths. He was alive.

Relief and disappointment rushed over her. She didn"t want to kill anyone, even though she wanted him dead. Scarlett could not reconcile those two feelings.

A low moan escaped from the man"s lips. His hand twitched and Scarlett sprang into action. She reached down, pulled the small pistol from his waistband, and shoved it into her own.

Scarlett marched out of the room and into the kitchen. Ruby and Cash sat against the far wall, still bound to their chairs with gags in their mouths. “Are you guys okay?”

The two mumbled their confirmations.

She ran over to Cash and fumbled with the knots holding his wrists. After a few moments, the rope loosened and came undone. Once Cash"s hands were free, Scarlett moved to the sink. “Help her out, please. I need to take care of something.” Scarlett filled a glass of water and left the room.

Back in the living room, Scarlett grabbed her attacker by his greasy shirt and yanked him onto his back. She reached down and lifted one eyelid to see only white.

She set the glass on the narrow table nearby. Oh no you don"t. With a strength she did not know she had, she seized the man"s shirt and lifted him to his feet. Scarlett slammed him into the wall where he"d held her just moments ago.

Oh no you don"t.She grabbed the glass of water and splashed it across the man"s face He sputtered a breath. “What the hell?”

Scarlett shoved the man against the wall, sending more drywall to the floor. “Who sent you?”

His eyes crossed for a moment then he focused on her face. “What?”

“I said "Who sent you"!”

The man smiled faintly and closed his eyes. “Piss off.”

Scarlett pulled the man away from the wall and shoved him into the depression again. “Tell me.”

“Why? He"s gonna kill me anyway.”

He? Scarlett felt the wind fall from her sails.

He?Her grip relaxed. The intruder took advantage of her distraction and thrust his arms up. Scarlett"s hands came free. She stumbled back enough to let the man"s wild haymaker miss her nose by a few inches.

Scarlett"s martial arts training kicked in again. In her mind, she saw the moves play out. She guided his passing hand and pushed it, spinning him more than he intended. Taking advantage of his unbalanced state, she stepped up to him and brought her elbow across the man"s cheek. He crumpled to the floor.

She knelt down beside him. “Who sent you?”

His eyes flickered as he struggled to stay awake. “Why should I tell you?”

Scarlett was not sure what made her say her next words, they just seemed to flow from her lips. “Because I"ll kill you quickly. You can bet they won"t be so nice.”

The man"s breaths came in ragged gasps. “Fine… Derrick. Derrick Martins.”

The name stung. She was not quite sure why, but that man"s name, connected with her attempted murder was like a knife to her heart. “Why? Who am I to him?”

A cough burst from the man"s lips. “I don"t know. I think it had something to do with the accident, the explosion.”

Scarlett"s confusion only deepened. Scraps of memories raced through her mind, but none of it made sense. She looked down at the floor and the smeared blood puddle. “I…”

Her vision exploded in a flash of pain and light. She felt her body falling backward and her mind threatened to black out. Scarlett resisted the urge to slip into the darkness and landed hard on the floor.

She shook her head just in time to see the man lunging at her. His body descended toward her with his hands outstretched toward her throat.

Without thinking, Scarlett flipped her legs up. Her thighs clamped down around her attacker"s neck. His body slammed into her, shoving her along the smooth floor with his momentum. He fell to the floor with a thud and scrambled to get traction.

Scarlett locked her ankles and squeezed her legs like a vise. Rage filled her again, rage at her own distraction and the opportunity she had given him. Her eyes burned and her lips were curled in anger. She watched as his arms flailed, trying anything to reach her. She clenched her teeth and relished in his helplessness.

His eyes bulged in his skull. Their gazes locked for a brief moment. Then she wrenched her legs to the side, snapping his neck with a sickening c***k.

Scarlett"s fury evaporated instantly. She looked down at the burst blood vessels around the white edges of his eyeballs. The horror of what she"d just done slammed into her chest and took her breath away.

Cash and Ruby burst through the door to find Scarlett with her legs around the dead man"s head. Ruby was the first one to speak. “Oh my.”

Scarlett glanced up at her brother and mother then back down to the man she"d just killed. Her face was a mask of shock and terror. She shoved herself away from the now lifeless body. With her back to the wall, she stared at the motionless corpse.

“I killed him. I don"t even know who he was, and I killed him.”