Page 118 of Brutal Ice

Leo had one hand slapped against his thigh. The other hand was moving toward his blazer. Did he have another weapon?

“Royal…” Violet warned.

“It was the mention of your wife that made me suspicious at the theater,” Royal said. “All my instincts were screaming when I talked to you on that stage. And, yeah, I planned to immediately do a deep dive on your dead wife. I’ll still do that dive. I’m guessing that when I research her, I’ll find that she looked just like Violet?”

Leo’s gaze whipped to Violet. “Mirror…image…”

Violet swallowed.

“So Micah fucked your wife,” Royal snapped out. “And you—what? Caught them together? Went crazy? Killed her?”

“Robbery…gone wrong. Guy tried to take her purse. S-sliced her open.” A shudder shook Leo’s form. “So much blood…” He licked his lips. “She was beautiful covered in blood.”

“Robbery, my ass,” Royal threw at him. “You killed her. Staged the scene to look like a robbery, huh? And you got a taste for all that blood and violence.”

“Always hear…the darkest parts of my patients…their lives.” His hand lifted a little higher toward his blazer. “They never knew…I was worse than all of them.”

She should grab Royal’s phone. Call the cops. Instead, Violet found she was rooted to the spot. The gun in her grip trembled.

“Gonna…pull the trigger, sweet Violet?” Leo asked her. He smiled. “Bet you’re not…can’t shoot…unarmed man.”

“I can,” Royal said. And he did. Boom.

Violet flinched.

The bullet slammed into Leo’s already injured left leg, and the psychiatrist hit the floor. He howled in agony.

Violet’s stare flew back and forth between Leo and a stone-faced Royal.

“She’s…seeing you…” Leo gasped out. “Just…as bad…as…” He slumped on the floor. His body had gone still.

Royal stared down at him. His weapon was still aimed.

“You’re not like him,” Violet whispered.

“I know.” He waited.

Violet took a step forward.

Royal shook his head.

And Leo surged forward. He hurtled across the floor even as his hand flew out. He grabbed for the gun he’d dropped moments before.

A guttural scream broke from Leo as he lifted the weapon and aimed it at Royal.

Violet fired.

So did Royal.

Which one had fired first?

Did it matter?

Leo went down and pieces of him went everywhere. Her eyes squeezed shut at the horrible sight.

Time passed in excruciating silence. Boom. Boom. Boom. That was her heart racing, but the sound was like gunshots.

“Violet? Sweetheart?” Royal took the gun from her. “Can you look at me?”

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