Page 98 of Cruel Love

He points the gun at me again.

“Wait—!” I cover my face with my hands.

The gunshot echoes through the trees and I brace myself for pain. I wait to feel that cold rush of blood spilling out of me. Hopefully, it’s quick. Maybe he’ll put me down fast with a second bullet in my forehead.

But I don’t feel it.

I open my eyes again as he lowers his arm from above his head. He barely looks at me as he pops open the cylinder and calmly reloads each chamber. Once he’s done, he closes it and holds the gun out for me to take.

“Go home to your wife,” he says. “Never come back here again.”

My hand extends on its own and he drops the gun into my weak grip. The smoking barrel feels hot against my palm, but I don’t dare let it slip.

The man turns around and starts walking back to the house.

“Wait…” I swallow. “Who are you?”

He pauses his stride and glances back. “If you’re as smart as you’re supposed to be, you’ll figure that out.”

Fuck me.

I hold my breath to stop the bile from taking over my throat.

“Go home,” he says again, bowing his head as he walks away.

“Hold on.” I raise a hand, my heart racing. “Don’t… Don’t go in there.”

“Why not?” he asks, humoring me.

“Because that’s Lilah Hart in there,” I answer. “And I’m pretty sure she’s not going to let anyone out alive.”

“I can handle her.”

“Are you sure about that?”

His eyes narrow in thought.

“You should run,” I tell him. “Go now while you still can. Here.” I hold out the revolver. “You might need this.”

He smirks. “You have no idea what you’re doing, kid.”

“That’s not really unusual.” I toss the gun underhand at him and he catches it. “Go.”

He glares at me a little longer, his impatient face slowly softening. I look at the gun in his hand as his fingers steadily creep around the grip, but I swallow my fear. If he were going to shoot me, he would have done it already. If this were any other man, I wouldn’t be so confident.

“Boxcar!”

I flinch at Archer’s sudden call. The man turns and sprints into the woods. Archer’s boots bound in my direction and he doesn’t stop until he’s beside me.

“Are you all right, Sparky?” he asks. “I heard a gunshot.”

I nod, barely breathing. “Yeah.”

He follows my line of sight as the man disappears. “Who was that?”

I stare off into the woods as thunder rolls in the distance.

“My father-in-law,” I say.

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