AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Johnny continues into the room, and she steadies her aim at him.
“You!” she blurts out.
“I never liked you,” Johnny tells her.
“You would be dead without me.”
“Doesn’t mean I like you.”
“You took Franklin from me.” Her hands shake with the gun pressed between them and her finger on the trigger.
I don’t trust the fact that she won’t accidentally shoot one of them because she’s so fucking old and stupid.
Johnny steps in front of Simon, blocking him from her line of sight. “Franklin was a disgrace and you know it. He deserved to die. I was thrilled watching a bullet go through his skull.”
Simon backs away slowly at her new distraction and then breaks away to rush over to me.
She tosses her attention toward us but quickly focuses on Johnny.
“God damn it, Hayes.” Simon slides his hand under mine and applies pressure to the wound. “We’ve got to get him out of here.” His emerald gaze trails up to my face. “Are you injured?”
I shake my head, the tears still silently falling down.
“You took Franklin, andshe”—Gwyneth seethes—“took Vincent.”
“Excuse me?” I rise to my feet now that Simon is clutching Coen, his grip much stronger than mine ever could have been. “Yousent that sick fuck to kidnap me.Youdid this.” I point to the scar on my cheek. “Andyouwere the one who showed me that fucking dagger and basically dared me to kill Simon.”
A sadistic laugh bubbles out of her chest, sending a chill down my spine. “And it was like taking candy from a baby.” She chuckles more. “You fail to realize the man who shot you, how he got that weapon to begin with. If only I had hired someone with a better aim, we wouldn’t be in this mess, and your preciousCoenwouldn’t be dead.”
“You fucking bitch,” I say through gritted teeth and step forward.
“June,” Johnny warns.
“And you’re just as much to blame.” She steadies the gun at Johnny. “You just had to poke and prod at Franklin. I should have let him kill you when he first wanted to.”
I inch closer to Johnny. “Give me the gun,” I tell him. “This is between me and her.” I look at Gwyneth. “You hear that, you stupid old hag? This has nothing to do with them. Let them go.” I whisper to Johnny, “You have to get Coen to a hospital,now. I can’t lift him. Please, Johnny, I’m begging you.”
“June, don’t you fucking do it,” Simon calls out from his spot with Coen.
I put him in an impossible situation when I let him take over the pressure on Coen’s wound. If he releases his hold and comes after me, Coen will no doubt bleed out. But if he does nothing, I put myself back in the line of fire.
Johnny effortlessly slides the gun from his grasp into mine. “Backup is coming soon,” he mutters before he rushes away.
Gwyneth struggles to know where to focus her aim but I move farther away from the men to shift her focus to me.
I could easily shoot her, but she’ll get a shot off before I can move out of the way, and she knows the same goes for me. We’re at a standoff of who will get distracted first, and I fucking refuse to be the loser.
I’ve gone through too much and come too far to let this bitch be the reason I die. Her life will end one way or another, even if I have to stand here all fucking night waiting for her to make one tiny misstep.
“Get out of here,” I tell the guys but keep my sights set on her. “Move that gun toward them, and I swear it will be the last thing you see. Do it, I fucking dare you.”
"I'm not going to fall for your antics, girl. My qualms are with you, not them. They will be dealt with later." She takes a step back and I match her by taking one forward.
Is she baiting me? Is she trying to walk me into a trap? Or is she trying to escape?
Simon and Johnny lift Coen and drag his lifeless body away.
I ignore Simon’s seething stare and focus on the bitch. “Who was Vincent to you?” I ask the question that’s burning through my head. “Why did his death matter?”
