Page 216 of Overcast

I zoom in on him, eyes narrowed at the ultimatum he just gave me. He didn’t just say—

“Choose wisely.”

“You’re out of your fucking mind,” I fume. “I’m not doing dick.”

“Then they both die.”

I move, anxiety, and fury coursing through my veins because there isn’t an option of which one means more to me.

They’re both the same.

Each woman is my life, what I function for. Even though Reagan is married and well off, and Stormi will find her own path, both of them being alive is what makes me operate.

Inches from Eli’s clean-shaven face, my next sentence has some saliva on it. “Let’s see how good my cowboy skills are, eh? I kill you first—” I raise my gun, hearing the two fuckers lift theirs in return, locking their bullets in place. “—then I try my luck with them behind me. It’ll be a good ‘old showdown.”

“You really wanna try that?” Eli hedges. “Risk their lives because you can’t—”

“You just told me to kill one of them,” I rant. “Fuck you.”

“I like blondes.” He nods in Stormi’s direction. “That one. Even though...the blue strands she’s rocking is sexy.”

“Motherfucker, you touch her, and I’ll rip your shit off.”

“You’ll be dead.”

“We’ll both be dead.”

And I’m fine with that.

I’d gladly die for my sister and Stormi.

“Then what happens to our girls?”

“Marty,” Reagan chimes in. “Step off for a second.”

Um, no.

I’m not cowering down from a rich sleazeball who believes his daddy wasn’t at fault when he was. When he wants to point the blame at everyone else but the person who fucked up.

I’d bring it up, but slicing into his self-esteem and preaching that this is dumb as fuck won’t help here. His wanting Lockwood because his father got locked up on some legit charges and a stripper who had no issue coming home with me—it’ll do nothing but speed the process of this ending badly.

“Listen to your sister,” Eli imparts. “She wants us to get along.”

A mirthless chuckle escapes my lips as I tower over him. “Thing is...I don’t give in to demands from little shits who think they’re something. So, if you believe you’re going to win this little game, I got news for you, fucker.” I shove my weapon into his soft chest. “No one is dying by my hand except you.”

A shot rings out, startling me to my core as I whip around to my girls.

The sight is too much. The hysterics working their way up to my brain are making me dizzy.

Regan’s scream echoes in my ears on repeat. All I can see is the blood trailing down her shin and to the hardwood floors. Her body cowered over in pain.

A baby that she’s carrying.

“You do understand that if you don’t, I’ll pick one myself.” I can’t turn on Eli because I’ll kill him.

Then I’ll off my sister and Stormi in the process.

“You’re just flesh with a big mouth,” Eli continues. “And nothing to back it up.”

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