Alex takes a step forward slow and deliberate. Power humming in every inch of him.
I see Oliver tense, the gun shaking slightly in his grip. I don’t know what startles him more—that Alex just used his name, orthat he’s still advancing, not afraid of the barrel aimed at his chest.
“I said don’t fucking move!” Oliver barks. “How the fuck do you know my name?”
Alex shrugs with infuriating calm.
“I learned everything about you in ten minutes. Just like you learned a little about me.”
Silence.
A heavy beat of it.
Then Oliver’s jaw clicks. He squares his stance, pretending to still have control.
“He owes me two hundred thousand.” A cruel smirk twists his face. “And I’m not backing down.”
My mouth falls open.
That’s a lie. That’s insane.
“That’s it?” Alex asks his tone unbothered.
“That’s not true!” I snap before I can stop myself. “It’s not! I paid off—”
“Shut up, boy toy,” Oliver cuts in, snapping his attention to me. “No one asked you to speak.”
I barely flinch, but I feel Alex’s eyes flick toward me—sharp, calculating. He drags his gaze down, his expression unreadable. Like he’s seeing me and assessing me at the same time.
But then… his focus shifts.
Back to Oliver.
And that’s when everything changes.
“Did you just call him a boy toy?” Alex’s voice is deceptively calm, but there’s something in it—a tremor of rage so deep and quiet, it makes my stomach knot.
Oliver scoffs, but I can see it now.
The hesitation.
He realizes he’s crossed a line.
But it’s too late.
Because Alex moves.
It’s like a blink.
A blur of motion, too fast for my eyes to catch. One second, Oliver’s holding the gun. Next, Alex’s hand is on his wrist, twisting. There’s a sickening crunch as bones grind, and the weapon is yanked free with brutal efficiency.
Click. Clack.
In one clean, practiced motion, Alex ejects the magazine, racks the slide to clear the chamber, catches the loose round mid-air, and tosses both pieces onto the couch like trash.
My breath catches.
The room is dead silent except for my mother’s soft gasp. Oliver stares at Alex, stunned, like the reality hasn’t caught up with him yet.
