Page 112 of Serpent King's Revenge

He hobbled up the last few steps, arms limp…a gun in his hand.

We locked eyes, both drenched in so much blood I could barely see his skin. I jerked my head to the side, pointing at Kenny with a sharp tilt of my chin. His eyes were wide, surprise etched on his face that Nathan was still standing.

"Thank you," Nathan said, sounding almost casual despite the blood staining his clothes.

He limped over, grimacing with every step but managing to keep upright. His fingers brushed mine as he took the gun from my hand, his grip firm and determined. This was his kill. He’d earned it.

Then we were both standing at the other end of the table…with the most dangerous man in California on the wrong side of a gun.

"Knuckles?" My voice was hoarse, my throat raw from the tension that had gripped it all night.

"Yeah," Nathan coughed out, wiping a smear of blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. "Alive. How about Lily?"

“Also alive,” I said. “Safe. Had to take out a few guards…but she’s safe.”

Relief hit me hard, but before I could even let out a full breath, Kenny's face shifted. The sick grin that had been playing on his lips twisted into a grimace. His eyes darted between the two of us, taking in the scene—the gun in Nathan's hand, the resolve in our stance, the bloodshed we'd survived.

He sunk into the head chair at the dining table, a place he'd ruled from like a king. But now his empire was just a house of cards in a storm, fluttering to the floor, one by one. His smile faded completely, leaving behind the bare truth—he had lost everything.

And the worst part for him?

Nathan and I were the ones still standing, the ones who brought it all down.

"Looks like your big plan went to hell," I said, voice steady even though my heart was racing.

Kenny raised his head, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were alive with a twisted kind of pride.

"Look at you," he rasped, a gruesome smile curling the edges of his lips as he stared at Nathan. "The killer I always knew you'd be."

Nathan just stood there, gun pointed at Kenny, a haunted look creeping into his eyes. He didn't say a word, didn't move an inch, but something about him was off.

"Shut up, Kenny," I snapped. "Your mind games won't work here."

But Nathan wasn't listening to me. His gaze flicked over Kenny's shoulder, and a shadow of fear crossed his features. I followed his line of sight, heart pounding, but all I saw was the old, dark wood of the bookcases in the library beyond.

And maybe I was reading him wrong…but I didn’t think he wanted this.

Not anymore.

Nathan's hand shook, the gun wavering like he was holding a live wire, not a piece of cold metal. Kenny, bloodied and grinning like a damn hyena, leaned back in his chair, the old wood creaking under his weight.

"Maybe the boy's got a soft heart after all," Kenny said with a laugh that grated on my nerves.

"Shut up," I snapped. My eyes stayed on Nathan, seeing him there, torn apart inside. He didn't have to be what this monster wanted.

I stepped closer, reached out, and touched Nathan's hands. They were slick with sweat and something more sinister. "Give it here, Nathan. You don't need to do this."

His eyes met mine, raw and searching. The gun felt heavy in my grip as I gently pulled it from his unresisting fingers. Nathan let out a breath, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

"Right, because you’re good guys now," Kenny spat out, chuckling like he was telling a joke nobody else got. "That's you two, huh? Why not turn me in?" He leaned back, trying to look comfortable despite the blood soaking through his shirt and staining the wood below him. His eyes fixed on Nathan. "You with your big hero complex, you'll never wash the blood from your hands, you’ll never be—"

Bang!

I looked at Kenny, saw the hole in his forehead.

I’d pulled the trigger.

Couldn’t help myself.

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