Page 99 of What Doesn't Kill You…

"Shut up," Arlo snapped. "No talking."

Violet turned on him. "Don’t,” she snapped. “I'm the only one who gets to tell him to shut up."

Arlo didn't know what to do with her statement, so he gestured to Kurt. "Empty her pockets," he said, coming over to stand beside them.

Cautiously, Kurt patted her down as Arlo supervised, but there was nothing to find.

"She didn't even bring a gun," Kurt said with a mocking smile.

"I don't need a gun. I'm giving you one last chance,” she said to the men who were foolishly standing far too close to her. “Release Max now and no one will be harmed."

The men laughed.

Violet wasn't amused.

And she was done playing. She struck fast. Kicking Arlo on the back of his leg, sending him to his knees. She wrapped her left arm around the arm that held his gun and jerked it upward. She heard his elbow pop. Arlo screamed. With one ferocious jab, she punched him in the throat. He gurgled and crumpled forward onto his face. Violet took his gun, spun on Kurt and shot him in the middle of his chest. He looked shocked as he fell, his gun still hanging over his shoulder.

Violet tucked the sidearm into the back of her pants before she removed Kurt’s automatic weapon and slung it over her shoulder. Moving back to Arlo, she grabbed the knife strapped to his ankle. As an afterthought, she helped herself to their phones and radios too. The phones would be locked, but she could give them to Evan later and he might be able to get something from them. The radios, on the other hand, could be useful. She hurried to Max and cut through the zip-ties securing him to the chair.

"You took them out in four moves," he said in stunned awe. "Four moves! They didn't even have a chance. I can't believe you took them out in just four moves."

"You're babbling," she told him as she freed the ties at his ankles. "We need to get out of here before someone comes to investigate the gunshot."

She helped him to his feet, wedging her shoulder under his arm to support him. His wide eyes were still on the fallen men.

"Four moves! You're like a ninja assassin. Are they dead?" He angled his head to stare at them as Violet propelled him across the room to the patio doors.

"Yes," she snapped. "Focus. We need to get out of here."

"Did you have to kill them? Couldn't you have tied them up."

"Max," Violet said very seriously. "Listen to me. It's really important you understand what happened here."

His dazed gaze landed on her. "What?"

"Those men were going to kill us and they wouldn't have hesitated. If I'd left them alive, they would have been nothing more than weapons Damien used against us. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"That you didn't have a choice?"

"No. I had a choice. And I chose to eliminate the threat permanently."

"But Damien will just send other men after us."

"And I will deal with that threat the same way. This is life or death, Max, and I'd rather we weren't the ones who died."

"I understand," he said. "I guess I'm not used to this kind of thing."

"Which is why you shouldn't have run off on your own."

"Yeah, I get that now. But to be fair, I didn't realize just how freaking terrifying and skilled you are. If I'd known you could take down an army single-handed, I wouldn't have worried so much about you getting hurt."

"Just stop talking," Violet said with disgust as she lugged him toward the door.

"Wait." He dug in his heels. "My ring."

"What now?"

"My wedding ring. It fell off my finger when they tied me up."