There’s no room to navigate. No time for my fingers to slip into a position they’ve been in a thousand times.
I simply throw a Hail Mary. I put as much force into my movements as my arm swings out. I slam the edge of the magazine into his temple, the gun again tumbling to the ground.
He slaps a hand to his head, and with more force than I’ve ever used in my entire life, my fingers dig into his shirt, right at his shoulders.
I slam him to the ground, barely registering the sick crunch.
It takes me another ten seconds to compute.
He’s unmoving. Blood trickles from the back of his head.
My lips part, and I feel like I could puke, but nothing comes out. I’m choking, my chest tight as I realize, thanks tothe angle and force, the Spider hit his head in a way that caused immediate death.
“Oh, God.” I’m not one to pray, but the words rise from me, my hair sticking to my face as I sag back on my heels.
The Spider is dead. I am alive.
I killed him because I got lucky.
I continue to choke. Dry heaving on the tarmac.
At least until my hands clutch my stomach and I remember I’m bleeding because, like a fool, I taunted the Spider into shooting me.
“Isolde!”
I’m dimly aware it’s Luis and not Tristan calling my name. And while I’m so damn grateful to be saved, I really need Tristan right now.
“Isolde!”
I’m swaying again, on the cusp of passing out when a head swims in front of me.
I squint, taking in the stranger’s golden green eyes, dark curly hair, and lanky limbs. “Who the fuck are you?” I ask before everything goes black.
CHAPTER 25
Tristan
My dad calls me right as I finish up a meeting with a potential client.
“Hi,” I say, heading out of an upscale bistro that the customer wanted to meet at. Their contract calls for several high-profile events this coming fall and will bring in a lot of revenue.
“Hi,” Dad says, and from the whack of his knife, I assume he’s in the kitchen. It’s around three o'clock, which is his preferred snack time. “I’m calling to inform you I’ve put the house on the market.”
“Dad.” I take a deep breath. “Are you sure?”
“You know I am. The question is, are you still going to be stubborn and not take me up on my offer?”
“Dad, you just retired a year ago. Don’t you want your own space instead of crashing at your sister’s? I’ve survived in this city, renting. I can keep on surviving.”
There’s another whack of the knife. “So you’re still going to be stubborn.”
“No, it’s not that.” I weave through pedestrian traffic, debating about heading to the bridal boutique.It’s my professional duty to check in on Isolde. I guess Lennie’s going through with the wedding despite already marrying Elijah. “I want to make sure you’re truly okay with this.”
My father makes a noise under his breath, illustrating his offense. “I know what I’m okay with. I want this for you, Tristan.”
My eyes close briefly, the phone hot against my ear. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I’m not imagining his surprise at my sudden acceptance.
