“Why?” I argued, even as I let her take the gun from my hand.
Vee just rolled her eyes, like the reasoning was too complex for my silly man brain to comprehend, then pressed the butt of my pistol into Billie’s grip instead. “All yours, girl.”
I wasn’t a fucking idiot, I could see my wife practically frothing at the idea of luring Billie into her new female powered mafia. She was barking up the wrong tree, though.
All of us just stared, watching our love with bated breath to see what she’d do next. She focused only on Tom, though. I recognized the steel in her spine and determination in her face as she stepped forward, raising the gun to aim.
Would this really be her first kill? I wasn’t so sure I wanted that for her… but I also wouldn’t stop her.
thirty
BILLIE
Tom was barely conscious; in fact, he was barely alive, if the shallow breathing and slumped form were any indication. Maybe he knew that this was his last moment and he just didn’t care to fight any longer.
Maybe it would be easier for me if he were fighting. At least if his ratlike face was snarling and spitting as it had been a few hours ago, I wouldn’t be standing here with shaking hands and lack of disposition to do what I fucking needed to do.
“Bella, baby, you don’t have to do this,” Angelo said, but he didn’t move closer or attempt to take the gun from me.
My voice was high and stiff. “I do. I have to fucking do this. He killed Flo, and he deserves to die. Not to mention that all of you have killed for me, to protect me and for other reasons. I don’t want to be the fucking princess you all baby through life.” I looked away from Tom for a brief second and found Vee nearby, her face impassive as if she didn’t want to encourage or discourage me further. “I want to be badass like Vee.”
“Vee is badass, but she’s also a psychopath,” Jace said drily.
Vee’s impassive expression morphed into a pleased smile. “I thought you’d never notice.”
Oh, we’d all noticed. Not for the first time, I was grateful that she was on our side.
Sucking in another deep breath, I turned away from my loved ones and stared down at Tom. Only this time, he’d managed to lift his head, and it was so much worse.
My hand, slippery with sweat, shook as I tried to keep the gun level. No one ever told you how damn heavy these things are or that standing with a gun held out before you isn’t exactly comfortable. I needed to hit the fucking gym or something.
But first, I had to kill Tom.I had to do it.I couldn’t be the weakest link any longer.
Double gripping the gun now, I aimed for his head, ready for a clean kill. He just stared at me, eyes dark and empty, expression slack, though that fucker had somehow found the strength to stare into my soul as I killed him. Like he knew this was going to haunt me forever.
Goddammit! Fucking shoot him, Billie. Pull the damn trigger. This is just like target practice.
My finger twitched on the gun, but no matter how hard I tried to squeeze that trigger as Grayson had taught me, I couldn’t do it. I had to face the truth: I couldn’t kill someone like this, no matter the reason or how much he deserved it.
An angry sob escaped me at my own fucking weakness, and when the trembling in my arms became too much, I let the damn gun fall to the floor, along with my pride.
I hadn’t put the safety back on.Oh fuck.
Grayson had warned me that this model could misfire if it was dropped and hit the ground at the right angle.
What the fuck were the odds of that though?
In what felt like slow motion, I watched the gun flip once and then again before it landed butt first, and the bang that emerged near deafened me as I screamed and threw myself backward. A strong arm wrapped around me and swung my body away from Tom and the gun.
What the fucking fuck!Had it actually gone off? Had I killed him without meaning to?
As the rapid and panicked thoughts flooded my head, I started hysterically sobbing and trying to draw air into my lungs. What if I’d shot someone else? What if I’d killed someone I loved because I was too fucking weak to do what needed to be done?
Before I could descend fully into hysteria, laughter rang out in the room, and I was fairly certain it came from Vee. I was also fairly certain that Grayson was the one who’d grabbed me, since it felt like I was surrounded by a giant. Protected and safe.
“Prickles,” he rumbled, sounding fully pissed off. “Are you okay?”
Vee’s laughter increased, and a second later Giana joined her. “What happened?” I asked. “Why are they laughing?”
