"Don't worry, I'll make it fun. You like it rough, darling?"
My stomach churned. How he could want that was beyond me. But when he stopped talking, the silence unnerved me more than the taunting. The words I could ignore; the lack of them meant he could be anywhere.
Knowing I had to do something, I lowered the gun and slipped my finger to the trigger. Peering around the edge of the counter, I saw him standing near the door with a rifle in his hands. He must have spotted the blood, because he crouched to examine it.
"Are you bleeding, Kinsley, or is that my son's blood?"
My gut had told me Elena and Asher were lying. There was no reason for them to suddenly tell the truth, and Carson's supposed demise was no exception. Unfortunately, my belief that I wouldn't have cause to run into him so soon was unfounded.
"You know, I wondered where Elena was headed off to this evening all dressed up."
I watched him turn around and slipped back behind the barrier between us. Burke's breath remained shallow, and I peeled up the fabric of the hoodie to see how much blood he was losing. Too much. It was all too much for me to handle.
"Imagine how shocked I was to hear a few guards discussing some invitation to a private dinner club with the Navarro brothers. I thought my wife didn't even know their first names, but she was planning to have dinner with them?"
He came closer to my hiding spot. With a quiet breath out, I stood and raised my arms in one smooth motion, firing a shot. The bullet hit Carson in the left shoulder, causing him to stumble back with a loud curse. Recovering immediately, he fired back at me, taking out a teddy bear display right over my head. Pulse in my ears, I raised the gun to fire again, but he was too fast, too close. He rammed the rifle into my stomach, stealing my breath and making me gag. My vision swirled around me, and I feared he would rape me and then kill me if I fell unconscious.
Pinning me to the floor, Carson wrapped his hands around my throat. "A whore deserves to die on her back."
Not one to give up without a fight, I brought my arms up, slamming the gun into his temple and punching him where I could. He grunted, losing his grip, and I fired my weapon. The bullet went wild, allowing him to regain his grip on my neck.
Despite his weakened shoulder, he was strong enough to make it hard for me to breathe, and my window of vision narrowed. With what strength I had left, I kicked and flailed as his blood covered me.
"I should have killed you when you came to the house to tell us what a whore you are."
At the thought of him killing me and Finn, rage filled me, and I managed to bash him repeatedly in the eye with my gun until he loosened his hold enough I could push him away. Coughing and sucking in air, I crawled back behind the counter, wishing Burke were awake to tell me what to do next.
Carson picked up the rifle and fired, blowing half the counter into pieces. Knowing I only had one more chance, one more bullet, I tried to decide my next move.
"Why don't you come out and spread your legs for your father-in-law? I have more experience than the man you've fucked for the past year. More money, too. If your cunt is still tight enough, I might even let you live so I can wear it out." He tried to fire another time, but all we heard was a loud click; it seemed he was out of ammunition. "Come on out, Kinsley. I could use another good side whore."
On the edge of hyperventilating, I gulped in as much oxygen as possible. Though my legs shook, I stood to my full height behind the counter, hiding the gun by my leg.
Blood poured over his hand where he clasped his shoulder, coating it like a shiny red glove. "Ready to die?" he sneered.
"I’m the one who killed Casper Molina. I killed your wife—who double crossed you because you’re so fucking weak—both the Navarro brothers, and your precious daughter. What makes you think you have the upper hand now, you motherless fuck?"
To my shock, he merely laughed. "My kill count is a hundred times higher than yours, bitch. Besides, you can't kill the devil himself."
"Watch me."
My last bullet hit its mark, and disbelief contorted his features as a red stain spread over his shirt. There was no room for feelings of victory or relief, not as long as Burke bled out at my feet.
Only once Carson crumpled to the floor did I drop my weapon and fall to my knees. Pressing my forehead to Burke's, I kissed him all over his face.
"Please wake up. Please," I sobbed. “I don’t know what to do without you.”
"Kinsley! It's Noah! Where are you?"
Sobbing harder, an ounce of relief coursing through me, I shouted, "Back here!"
"Kinsley, what—" He stopped short when he encountered Carson's body.
"Make sure he's dead first."
He complied, kneeling and holding two fingers to Carson's neck. "No pulse."
I didn't flinch at the sound of a gunshot. I was long past death bothering me.
