Page 5 of Queen of Spades

“We both know birds are meant to fly. Tell Vanessa I love her and Elijah I’m sorry.” Edmond tosses his head back and connects with the face of the man holding him.

“No,” I shriek.

Bright red blood sprays out in an arc as the enforcer slits Eddie’s throat.

I lock my knees to keep from hitting the floor. Eddie is still struggling, trying to get the knife from the guy.

It’s insane how much blood the human body holds…and it’s spilling out everywhere.

I don’t let myself think it through as I pull the trigger one right after the other. Andretti’s face explodes as the two bullets land right next to each other.

The enforcer stabs Eddie again and tosses his body down. That was far from a clean kill. He’s covered in blood.

Blowing out a heavy breath, I slide the Glock until my aim is as good as it’s going to get and pull the trigger three times. One in each lung and one in the heart. My shots aren’t perfect, but they take him to the ground. My feet slip and slide in the blood that I’ve been standing in.

I make my way over and put a final bullet in the enforcer’s forehead. Assuming an enemy is dead is a great way to lose your advantage.

This is all my fault.

Ripping off my shirt, I kneel at Eddie’s side. His eyes are already lifeless and glassy, but I still try to apply pressure.

“Please don’t die,” I whisper. “You can’t die! We haven’t finished the last season of Yellowstone. I won’t ever be able to watch that show again without you.” A sob rattles out as tears splash down my cheeks.

It takes a few minutes before it finally clicks.

He’s gone.

I fall on my ass, sobbing into my bloody hands.

My head shakes as my entire body trembles, but there’s a weird numbness that makes me think I might be in shock. Air isn’t saturating my lungs properly, no matter how deeply I gasp for breath.

It’s like you want to hyperventilate, my brother’s voice echoes in my mind. Slow, deep breaths. You’re wasting time. Crying over things that can’t be changed gets you nowhere. You either get up and keep yourself alive, or you’re saying Eddie’s sacrifice meant nothing.

God, I hate him. He’s such a condescending fucker. I haven’t seen him in months, but I know if he could see me now, that’s exactly what he would say.

Loneliness wasn’t something I faced growing up, but once I left, I found out just how lonely the world can be. I won’t say I never considered going back, but being free of all the violence and constant threats was a huge relief.

Was that independence worth the lives of the good men who just died to protect you? Ranger’s voice taunts me in my head all over again.

Maybe I’m losing my shit.

This was a lot.

I guess I could be having a psychological breakdown.

“Fuck. Are you okay?” Kane asks, making my head whip up to locate him. He’s covered in blood from a wound on his outer arm and another on his forehead. He’s clutching his ribs, and his shirt is torn to hell. “Come on, princess. We gotta move.”

He was in on this! my brain screams as my gaze slides to the gun. Somehow it slid out of reach. It’s a couple feet away, but he’s too close. He would be on me in a second.

“You’re in shock.” Kane kneels at my side, ripping off his T-shirt. “Are you injured?”

“No,” I croak, shaking my head.

He dries my hands of as much blood as possible and tosses it aside.

“We’ve got to hit the panic room, grab the go-bags, and get the fuck out of here,” he says, pulling me to my feet.

It’s nearly impossible not to ask if he plans to drag me straight to the remaining Andretti brothers. He guides me to my bedroom. The panic room door pops open when he scans his finger and eye simultaneously. I fall to sit on my bed as I try to figure out how the hell to kill him so I can get away.

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