Time stands still.
The world falls away.
There is only Aurei.
There will only ever be....
The addict's grin is pure evil.
I hear Aurei's raised voice, so hard with hate, I almost don't recognize it."Do it, Motherfucker!"
I jump to my feet and take a step.
His forearm bulges.His hand squeezes the gun....
AUREI!
* * *
Aurei
* * *
Movement catches my eye.My head snaps to the bed.Siri takes a step from behind the protection of the headboard.A look of utter terror is on her face.Her eyes are as big as saucers.She looks wild!Wildly afraid.
The hammer clicks.
I look down at the gun, then back into his eyes."It only carries five," I tell him and laugh as he pisses himself.
THUD!
Siri!I turn to see my Wild Thang crumpled.Her blonde hair spills onto the floor.
My soul freezes, then from my chest, a sound so terrible erupts, it makes the motherfucker drop to his knees and beg for his life.
I grip his head and squeeze it so hard.He shrieks, then I slam his face into my knee—Hell-bent on permanently disfiguring him, not caring if I kill him.Instantly, he drops like dead weight.I sling him away from me.
Rushing to Siri, I try to maintain calm.She could need me.She could be shot.First aid techniques race through my mind.
A vision of Bradford then Easy.
Stay focused.
Check for a heartbeat first.
Check for blood second.
Check for broken bones.
Check for...
She's lying face down.Limp and lifeless!
"Siri.Siri.Siri."I repeat her name as I check for her heartbeat.Placing two fingers against the jugular, I have kissed and mauled while I thrust the force of life into her.The world falls away around me as I press.The only thing that will ever matter again is the sensation against my skin in this one moment.I stop breathing.The steel bands hover outside my heart, waiting to know if they will seal themselves forever around it or not.
....
....
