Page 167 of Massimo

BLAM!

The shotgun went off in a blast of yellow light.

Lucia jerked backwards, the force of the recoil slamming through her body –

And the camouflaged man’s head turned into a bloody mask of raw meat.

At 20 feet away, Lucia was far enough that the shotgun blast didn’t take off the man’s head –

But what it did do was horrific.

I watched as his body keeled over with a thud –

And then I looked at Lucia.

She had recovered from the recoil and was standing absolutely still. She held the shotgun pointing down, the smoking barrel touching the ground…

And she was staring at the man she had just killed.

If her scream before had been frightening, what I saw in her eyes was terrifying.

She…

She just wasn’t there.

The woman I knew wasn’t behind those eyes.

They were just… empty. Blank.

“Lucia,” I said as I rushed around the edge of the feed bin.

She didn’t look at me. She just stared at the man on the ground with unblinking eyes.

My heart swelled with gratitude and grief as I gently grabbed her shoulders.

Gratitude that she had saved me –

And grief for what she’d had to do.

“Baby, thank you,” I whispered as I pulled her to my chest and hugged her. “You saved my life.”

She didn’t make a sound…

But the shotgun slipped from her limp hand and clattered on the concrete.

Clack!

I pulled away from her, cupped her face in my hands, and made her look at me.

She just stared right through me.

I was worried, but I thought I knew what she was feeling.

The first time you kill a person is traumatizing – even if it’s to save someone you love.

“Baby, it wasn’t your fault,” I whispered. “You had to do it – you saved me.”

Suddenly, there was a gurgle behind me.

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