Scarlett cries out and tries pulling away despite my grip on her hair. “You broke my goddamn nose!”
She twists her position to glare up at me. With one hand, she reaches for her gun secured at her hip. When she swings the barrel to aim at me, I spin, positioning myself behind her with my hold on her hair. My new stance causes Scarlett to stand with her head tilted backward toward me. I keep my hand in her blonde locks as we grapple for the gun.
Scarlett flips it to aim over her shoulder toward me, so I grip the barrel and dip my head to the side while pulling the gun in my direction. Pivoting, I place Scarlett behind me and swing my elbow back, nailing her right in the stomach. She grunts, but her grip doesn’t let up, so I elbow again and again until she releases her hold.
Never firing a gun before, I hold it awkwardly in my hands.
Scarlett notices my lack of skill and cackles. “Oh, God. All the work to get the gun, and you don’t even know how to use it.” She fans her face as tears pour out of her eyes. I’m not sure if it’s from pain or from hysteria.
Flipping the gun over in my hands, I seize the barrel and hold it above my head. “I know it’s heavy.”
Scarlett’s pupils dilate in fear, and her hands rise to shield her face. She tries to push me away, but her efforts are weak. I barely feel it when she rakes her nails down my arms. My consciousness takes a back seat as a frenzy of savagery takes over. I ram the gun into her head until she collapses. Following her descent, I fall to my knees and continue.
I don’t stop.
Not when I can see her skull.
Not when that skull fractures inward.
Not when the tissue of her brain becomes visible.
The muscles in my arms scream for a break, but I can’t stop—I can’t. This woman almost killed everyone in my life who meanssomething to me. I can’t stop until I know that even her ghost won’t be able to come back.
“Raven, Darlin’.”
“Sunshine.”
Arms encompass my upper arms and chest, prying me away from Scarlett’s bloody corpse. Another person wrestles with me to wrench the gun from my hands.
“Get off me!” I kick my legs.
“Raven, calm down. It’s us!”
“Let me go!”
“RAVEN!” Large, rough hands grasp my face, forcing my gaze to connect with theirs.
Beautiful amber eyes swim into view, and everything in my mind stills.
“Come back to me, Sunshine.”
A warm glow softens the ache in my chest as the need to fight leaves me.
“That’s it, Darlin’.”
Blinking, a friendly face emerges. “Griffin?”
“Hey,” he whispers softly. “It’s over. We’re safe.”
“We are?”
This is a dream. I’ve never been safe. It’s never over. It’s always one thing after another. I’m always fighting, always surviving.
The one holding me still answers my question. “Yes, we are.”
Turning my head so I can look up, Knox’s sweet smile meets my eyes.
“Hey, there.” The corners of my mouth curve up.
