He lets go of Levi’s arms and stands back, leaving him on his knees, cowering before me.
I lift the gun, aiming at his head.
The fear in his eyes holds my gaze. He opens his mouth to speak, but without further hesitation, I pull the trigger.
The bullet leaves the barrel with a crisp crack in the air, piercing my ears. It travels as if in slow motion, taking all the tension and worry from my body, knowing he’ll never hurt Lilly or her brother again.
Levi drops back onto the floor with a thud, blood trickling from his forehead onto his stunned face, his eyes dull as if a light just went out.
The room falls silent. All focus on me. Usually I strive to do everything by the book, but I couldn’t risk it with him. The only way for Lilly to be safe was to have him gone for good. I don’t trust our justice system. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be out on good behaviour seeking revenge.
The sirens in the distance get closer, but in the room you could hear a pin drop. I’m frozen to the spot, unable to move as Levi bleeds out onto the dirty carpet.
Dom takes the gun from me, holding it with his sleeve. “Do you want to take the rap for this or make it look like a suicide?”
I take in a deep breath, glancing at Lil as she stares at me openmouthed as if she’s about to speak, but a frown settles on her face before she looks away with tears in her eyes. It’s ironic that all this time wearing a mask, I was more myself. The real mask is the one I wear as the hero. And now it’s slipped, exposing me as the cold-blooded killer I am.
With her back to me, she focuses on her brother’s bullet wound. She’ll never look at me the same way again.
I drop my head, the disappointment in her gaze still at the forefront of my mind. “I’ll take the rap.” There’s too many witnesses here to do otherwise, and I may not be a hero, but I’m not a coward.
“Shane, no.” Lilly’s lip trembles, her eyes pleading with me, but for what, I’m unsure.
Ash applies pressure to his shoulder at Lilly’s instruction, but steps aside, moving towards the door. He glances my way, meeting my gaze with a nod of his head. “It was self-defence. He attacked me, then threatened Lil before lunging at you. You had no choice but to pull the trigger.”
Lilly wipes the mascara staining her cheeks, her eyes shining with a glimmer of hope. “That’s exactly what happened.” She looks at Kane, the same eyes pleading with him. “Tell him, Kane.”
I lock eyes with my best mate. Another person I failed when I wasn’t there for him when he needed me the most. He knows what it’s like to be in my position, and we share a knowing look that wordlessly conveys everything in his heart. The message is loud and clear. Don’t take the rap for this and leave our girl alone.
Dom holds the gun out in front of him. “Sounds like the truth to me.”
I take hold of it, my hand a little unsteady, but my mind’s never been more sure of anything than right now as I look back at Lilly. The disappointment I saw in her eyes wasn’t because of what I’d done like I initially thought. It was the disappointment that we’d finally accepted our fate, and I was throwing it all away, doing the right thing.
The inspector will be pissed he didn’t get to put him behind bars, but nobody’s gonna miss him. Levi Jackson can go to hell for all I care. He’s not taking anything else from Lilly, least of all me.
42
LILLY
Iroll over, reaching for Shane in the dark, his cotton sheets cocooning me with his scent. After what seemed like hours of the police taking my statement when all I wanted to do was go with my brother to the hospital, Shane brought me back here, showered with me, and tucked me into his bed, with him spooning behind me. Only now the bed’s cold and empty. A shiver courses through my body, my hair still damp from when he washed it.
Neither of us has spoken since we left the flats. There’s been so much to process. Shane just held me in the shower and held me against the warmth of his chest in bed. Seeking that familiar warmth, I throw the covers back and pad out of his room, down the hall.
Shane’s nowhere to be seen, so I climb the stairs to the living room and kitchen. My breath catches in my throat as I take in his silhouette against the moonlit backdrop of the lake. A cool breeze blows through the gap in the sliding door where his body leans against the wall, one foot on his plush rug and the other foot on the wooden decking of the balcony.
He flicks the ash off his cigarette, letting it blow away in the wind. Tendrils of smoke curl from his lips as he locks eyes with me through the vapour. “Everything all right?”
I nod as I pad over the plush rug towards him, tugging the hem of his t-shirt over my bare behind. “Is it the insomnia again, keeping you awake?”
He takes another inhale of his cigarette, then lets out a long breath. “Yeah. I’ll be okay. You go back to bed, get some rest.” His lips press against my forehead before he steps out fully into the night. The moon shines on his inked torso, the grinning skeleton is a stark contrast to our moods right now.
“I don’t want to go back to bed without you.” My feet move of their own accord, following him out onto the balcony, the winter wind blowing my hair. I wrap my arms around him from behind, pressing my pebbled nibbles against his back. My teeth chatter, but Shane doesn’t flinch, as if he’s accustomed to the climate. “How long have you been out here?”
His hand strokes over my arm, until he reaches my hand, then he entwines our fingers together. “A while.” The muscles in his back lift as he inhales another drag of his cigarette.
I kiss between his shoulder blades, then rise onto my tiptoes to rest my chin on his shoulder and kiss in the crook of his neck, his musky scent filling my nose is my favourite thing. “Want to talk about it?”
He takes in another long ragged breath. “I thought I’d lost you tonight.”
