Mated to the Mad Lord-Chapter 136: Stab in the back.

The first thing they needed to do was make a controlled fire right before Howie found a blade and heated it long enough to be able to do what he needed it to do. He would have liked to wait longer, but between Reddrick’s wagging tone as he pointed out that the woman was dying and the actually dying woman on the floor, he had no choice but to hurry it up.

Satisfied to see Reddrick pick her up again, his hold on her much firmer, Howie went ahead to cauterize the wound, shocked to barely hear a loud groan before her entire body instantly went limp.

’She’s too weak!’ he thought, but it wasn’t his problem even as he finished what he needed to do and spoke to Reddrick. "It’s still bleeding, but at least she won’t bleed to death right now!" Howie said as he immediately began to pick up the instruments he had used and everything he had touched, placing them back in the box after wiping each of them with a piece of cloth he found in the stable, which he intended to burn.

"Okay! Let’s go!" he told Reddrick, already planning the route they would take in his mind. It didn’t matter if the box was later found as long as he had completely left the mansion by then, as he proceeded to completely wipe his hands with the piece of cloth.

"We’ll write the letter and put it in a place it can be found before--" but he was still speaking as he picked up the box in preparation to head out of the stable when he heard Reddrick cut in.

"What?" Reddrick barked out in a clearly pissed-off tone as he glared at Howie, who needed to take in a deep breath to prevent himself from lashing out in anger as he wondered what the hell Reddrick’s problem could possibly be.

"...You can’t be serious! We definitely still have more than an hour, if not two!" Reddrick responded, even as his gaze remained fixed on Violet as he continued speaking. "Fiona gave us the right to torture her and--"

"--And we did!" Howie snapped, even as his anger slowly intensified the more he looked at Reddrick, whose attention wasn’t even completely focused on him as he watched him glance at the woman on the ground as he continued to say inane words that pissed Howie off beyond words.

"We can’t leave now! I still need a couple of more minutes with her, especially now that we aren’t killing her!" The sly look on his face spread as he continued to speak. "She can possibly be healed, but the thought of fucking his lover would give me great--"

"Are you fucking stupid? We need to go now!" Howie snapped, raising his voice and trying to get Reddrick to bend to his will without resorting to violence, only for Reddrick to smirk as he lowered his tone and spoke the next words confidently and with all the arrogance that accompanied it.

"If you raise your voice any higher... people will come looking for us! If you fight me, we will attract others, and you can’t afford to do that. You like to be methodical!" he said, even as he turned his back to Howie and moved closer to Violet, who lay unconscious on the floor. "We can keep arguing and waste time, or you can give me a few minutes to do what I want... It’s your choice!"

For a split second, Howie envisioned pulling a blade out of the box he carried and stabbing it through Reddrick’s neck as he turned his back, and Howie was still considering this thought when suddenly they both heard footsteps, ones that sounded like they were getting closer and scared the both of them shitless.

’It’s just one man!’ Howie thought, pricking his ears as he darted to the side of the door and gestured towards Reddrick to open it, even as he instantly did so, an anxious look in his eyes, one that turned into annoyance when his eyes landed on Savi.

"You again!" But Savi didn’t even wait for Reddrick to speak as he pushed his way in. "I don’t care if Howie is also here... I’ve already informed other guards about this place and confirmed that no one has searched it yet!" he said with a frown on his face. At first, he hadn’t cared, but he had been on duty, and if Cain’s lover wasn’t found, he would be killed.

’All I did was allow Lady Fiona to bring a few people in... I refuse to die!’

...but he was still speaking when Reddrick attacked him, punching him, only for Savi to easily evade, kicking out with his legs as he struck Reddrick down with a smirk on his face. Reddrick instantly moved to drag his legs, only for Savi to evade, about to kick him again, only to feel a sensation behind him. He was just about to turn around when he suddenly saw Reddrick attack him in full force, even as Howie also attacked him from behind, plunging a knife right into the base of his skull. His face colored with shock as his body slowly went limp, and Reddrick caught it before his body could fall to the ground with a heavy thump.

"I hear more footsteps!" Reddrick snapped with a slight panic in his tone as he spoke, even as Howie concentrated on pulling the knife out of Savi before handing the blade to Reddrick, who instinctively took it.

"What’s the plan? We can’t kill more guards. We were only able to kill Savi because we were two, and you ambushed him!" Reddrick said in a clearly concerned tone, even as Howie remained quiet, his gaze darting back and forth between Reddrick and Violet, who still lay unconscious on the ground, eyes sharp like he had a plan or was at least thinking of one.

"What are you thinking of? Are we climbing out the window? Once they get here, they’ll smell the blood!" his panic heightening with each second that passed and Howie refused to speak, even as his own heart thumped heavily in his chest in fear and panic. He was just about to say more as he turned around, looking and trying to figure how he and Howie could get out when he felt Howie move from behind him.

"You’ve figured something--" he began to ask as he turned around, only to choke on his own blood as he raised his hands to his neck and found a knife right through it, turning around to stare into Howie’s cold and cruel eyes as he stared back at him.

"No hard feelings! The only plan I could think of requires you to die a quick and painless death, something we both know you would have never agreed to!" Howie said right before he slit his throat.