Page 59 of Charity's Redemption

Owen drew back and swung again in a chopping downward motion. As I darted to the side, it slammed into the floor in the same spot I had stood. He quickly regained momentum and swung to the side, slamming it into my hip. The force threw me into the nightstand, knocking over the knick knacks atop it, my gun dropping and skidding under the bed.

My fists clenched from my throbbing hip as I ground my teeth to bite back the annoyance.

“You won’t come out on top, motherfucker.”

He swung again when an ear-piercing bang punctured the air.

Owen froze, his arms suspended in time as though someone hit the pause button. Blood surged from his inner thigh in rhythm with his racing pulse on the floor in crimson ribbons until the shock wore off and he collapsed to the ground.

“Dammit, Max. I had him.”

He laughed. “Sure you did,bella.”

I dropped to the ground and crawled under the bed to retrieve my gun. I’m going to need to invest in one of those bungee cords you connect to your weapons like the police have. Then maybe I won’t keep dropping the fucking thing.

“Please,” Owen cried as I pulled myself out from underneath the bed.

Tears well in his eyes as he gripped his thigh to staunch the flow. “Please, what?” I asked, dusting off my revolver on my shirt. “I told you not to prolong this.” Pointing the gun at him, I made a swiping motion. “You might as well let that fucker bleed.”

It was human nature to want to preserve your life even when you knew death had your name and was coming for you. You couldn’t fight that survival instinct. It was coded into your system, buried deep in your bones before your parents even thought about you.

“Don’t kill me, please.”

“I told you I would.”

He held his bloody hands up in surrender. “You wouldn’t kill an unarmed man, would you?”

I shrugged and smirked. “Of course I would,” I said, pointing the pistol at his head. “I do it all the time.”

Listening to his begs of mercy once more, I stared into his eyes and squeezed the trigger. His body flopped onto the floor in a bloody mess, his bodily material spraying all over the walls.

I feel sorry for the people who have to clean this up.

My shoulders sagged as I exhaled. Another sour chapter in my life, snuffed out by my hands.

“Are you okay?” Max said, coming up behind me, placing his arm around my waist, then spinning me around.

I nodded, pulling my gaze from Owen’s bloody body. “Couldn’t be better.” I raised on my toes then pressed my lips to his.

The pain from my split lip sharpened across my face, but I pressed harder, my tongue slipping past my fresh blood and into his mouth, swirling with vigor.

“Let’s get out of here. Vito, call and have this cleaned up,” Luca said from behind us.

Breaking away from Max’s hold, I stomped towards Luca and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him. He wrapped his arms around my waist as Nico stood in the hall, worry slashing his features like a horror film. I beckoned him over.

Nico walked towards me as I held my hand out for him while still hugging his brother, and when he was close enough, I pulled him in against us in a group hug. My chest swelled with love as everything fell into place.

There was only one more enemy to take care of, and it had to be done without resorting to death. Luca pulled away, ending the hug between us, and glanced at Vito, who was on the phone ordering the clean-up crew. “Make sure they preserve the bodies. Charity and Max get to do a little digging.”

“What?” Max said.

“Why?”

“For ignoring my phone calls and running away instead of facing the music.”

“Luca, my phone broke. Besides, I didn’t kill John; that was Elias.”

Luca’s lips flattened in rage. “How do you know that?” he asked as we made our way out of the back bedroom.

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