AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But the sympathy in my tone…
It’s somewhat lacking.
It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be…
Taking a life. Not when family is involved. I always said I’d do anything for the ones I love—now, I have.
I go back through the outer gate, now in desperate need of a walk to clear my head before I go back to the party. I stride down the city street, my mind a numb jumble of thoughts as I wander. I want to think that Ashely is safer, that this is almost all over now that I’ve pulled the trigger.
Feels naïve.
Like me killing Bruno’s son was just the start of something. Taking a life makes me equal parts powerful, invincible, and numb. It leaves me wondering if I’ve truly ended something…
Sure, it was meant to be a father for a father, but it’s not my fault the son pulled a gun on me, first.
Eye for an eye, right?
Or…
Have I just opened the family to a whole new world of danger?
Chapter Five
Rhett
I zigzag through the dark, my mind racing, my breaths short and sharp. I ignore the burning in my lungs; the only thing that matters is getting away from Trevor. I have no idea where he is, but I know what he's capable of.
I know he's hunting me. I know he'll hurt me.
I’ve been on the run for hours. I drove my Bunny to the city, parked her somewhere I thought she’d be safe till I could get back to her, then took off on foot.
Why am I zigzagging instead of running straight down the dark road? I remember how I squeezed my eyes shut tight in the closet earlier. Do I think it makes me invisible to him?
I think of a book I read in the library as a kid, about how to outrun wild animals. For an alligator, you run in a zigzag path to confuse him. Later I found out that was a myth. Zigzags just slow you down, giving him the opportunity to catch you in his powerful jaws.
I feel like that’s what I’m doing right now, making it easier for Trevor to catch me.
How do you outrun a panther?
My pounding heart whooshes blood past my eardrums. My legs are going to jelly. I glance backward.
Nothing. No one. At least... not yet.
It’s past midnight. The street is quiet. He'll track me down, soon. There's no way he'll give up till he finds me.
As I turn down an alleyway, in the distance I see something lying in the middle of it. What it is? I force myself forward, searching the darkness.
A figure is lying motionless on the ground.
I come closer. A man is sprawled out in the cold. I search for signs of life, staring at him as I stand there, waiting, my own breath caught in my lungs. Finally, there's a slight rise and fall of his chest.
He's breathing, but he's not conscious.
A surge of fear tangled with compassion wracks my tired muscles, pulling me in two directions. I peer ahead, the dark alleyway connecting to the next street over a promising tunnel of safety. I turn back to his beautiful face, the planes of his high cheekbones casting shadows under the soft glow of the streetlight.
I'm torn. Do I run and save myself? Or stop and help him, risking my own safety? Before me, the empty streets call to me, telling me to run.
I can't do it. Nothing in me will let me just pass this man by and leave him dying in an alley. No matter what my own fate ends up being… I just can’t do that to another human being.
