I aimed the gun, pointing at the broad target, and reminded myself to breathe.
“Why are you fecking smiling?” Johny boomed.
Liam crossed his arms over his chest, assuming a posture of indifference. “Because…my wife’s here.”
Johny spun around, and I squeezed the trigger.
The gun answered with a roar.
In the echo of the shot, silence spread through the house. Johny reached for his shirt, his own weapon falling uselessly to the floor. He pulled at the material. His eyes went wide in disbelief as crimson bloomed over the cotton tee. He lifted the shirt and prodded a careful finger over the small entrance wound leaking life down his front.
A normal person would have felt sick at the sight.
But rage consumed me. Rage and a wicked glee.
No one touched my husband and lived.
I clenched my jaw and squeezed the trigger again. I didn’t release my hold until the clip was empty, only lowered the barrel as Johny fell to the floor.
He twitched once.
Cavolo…that felt good.
Breathing hard, I tucked the weapon in the waistband of my jeans. I didn’t know where to look. I only knew that I’d committed the sin of murder. Again. At least—I drew in a desperate gulp of air—at least this time it was in self-defense.
That had to be why I didn’t have the urge to puke.
Or maybe I was just immune to violence at this point.
“Gabriella,” Liam sang my name softly.
I snapped my gaze to his. The monster prowled closer. His mask was gone and so was his glove. He rounded the coffee table, his large body blocking the mess on the floor.
“I’ll—I’ll get the mop and bleach,” I murmured.
Liam advanced, arms outstretched. “No need, cailín.”
I shook my head, but the fresh woodsy scent hit me a moment later. I rushed into his arms. My fingers tore at his body, probing and checking, as if my mind wasn’t satisfied that he was safe and unharmed.
“You did good, cailín,” he whispered into my hair, wrapping his arms tightly around me. “So fecking good.”
Dropping my cheek against his chest, I let out a long breath. And then listened. Listened to the sound of his heart, thumping in a steady rhythm.
My voice shuddered. “I can’t lose you.”
“You didn’t.”
I lingered, breathing him in and listening to his life flowing through his veins. Steady and strong, it could be the fortress I craved, the salvation I needed.
“I can hear that,” I whispered, tapping my finger in time to his pulse.
Liam’s voice was silk and salvation. “It beats for you, cailín.”
Mine broke at those words.
How.
How was I supposed to let a piece of myself go to stay with this man? Tears flooded my vision, but I squeezed my eyes tight to keep them from falling. The decision I’d been avoiding was going to break me.
