Page 23 of Not Taken

Lifting the gun, I sunk my finger on the trigger, preparing for Eli's blood to spray like the two agents on either side of him.

I was going to obliterate him.

My breaths were short and quick, my heart fucking exploding in my chest. Yeah, maybe I'd puke after I did it, but I'd never have to see Eli again, and that would be the best part.

I wouldn't have to look into his heated chocolate brown eyes and hope I saw more there. And I wouldn't have to resist kissing him every second I was with him. And there'd be no reason to press my chest to his back just to pretend I was really holding him because I was too much of a pussy to admit how I felt. Or even deal with how much I fucking loved him because it drove me nuts thinking about how much of myself I'd give him if I let go.

I curled my hand around the grip of the gun.

I'd killed enough people to know what I was doing. I just hadn’t killed someone I actually gave a shit about.

With Dad peering on behind me, I swallowed the bile in my throat, growing more and more sick as every second dragged by. I had to do it. This was the best way to get rid of him and secure my place as heir.

My eyes hard, I stood a foot away from Eli. I wanted to be as close as possible so I could watch his fucking skull crack as I shot him and knew I was finally free of him.

He met my eyes, his face stricken as he wheezed away. That cruel sneer had vanished. He shook as he licked his lips and took a quick breath.

It was obvious he was hurt. Like a dying animal, I was doing him a favour. And I had to finish this before there was any more time to think.

My nostrils flared as I l grit my jaw and I pushed away my feelings, focusing on the barbed wire that was still strangling me. Eli had had a wife, he killed my family. What else had he done? Did he really have someone waiting for him he needed to protect? Who even was the person I'd fallen in love with?

I growled as I lifted the gun, my awareness intensely focused on my finger.

Eli's face was swollen already. He straightened up, looking at me with his good eye, his smile disgustingly twisted through broken teeth and lips.

“I never told you that I love you,” he rasped, choking on his own blood and ruining my whole world.

The words shuddered through me, my hand trembling as I kept my aim.

How could he say that? How could fucking say that in this situation?

What the fuck was wrong with him?

Blood ran down the lines of his face from the way my dad and his fucking goons had laid into him. It stained his shirt, and his right arm was bent too sharply for it not to be a break.

And he was smiling. Fucking smiling at me.

I’d fucked him raw so many times, spit on him, hit him, crushed his head against the wall, and I did everything I could to hurt him, and yet he loved me?

What kind of fucked up thing was that?

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t take those kinds of words just as I was about to kill him.

He could never be that for me. I had to remember that every day. All I wanted was to take over my family, make Dad and Grandad proud. I was going to be the one to take us into even bigger territories, expand our empire and rule like a fucking king. And I couldn’t do it when I loved him too.

“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head as I braced my finger on the trigger and prepared to squeeze.

CHAPTER NINE

ELI

At least it was him.

I closed my eyes. The last thing I ever saw was the sight of Caleb, his hand quaking, fury etched into his face as he pointed the barrel of the gun at my head.

But at least it was him.

No torture, no regrets. One click from Caleb and I never had to sink into the madness he conjured in me again.

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