Page 145 of Lamb

The small, tiny click of the safety echoed in my ears.

My father sighed, turning his head over his shoulder. Disappointment was an interesting look on his face. The first, and possibly only, emotion I had ever seen from him. Wouldeversee.

“Am I worth your time now?” I laughed, the humour bubbling and nauseating in my throat as I aimed the small compact revolver at his head. It was a pure white ivory handle,and the chamber was carved with intricate, beautiful depictions of a bird taking flight in gold etching. Charon’s gift was stunning. But it was small. It barely had a few shots packed into it.

“I must say, Alexandria, I took you for a dying dog all these years,” he mused, allowing a smirk to flash on his usually stoic face. “I am surprised you know how to barkbut, more importantly, are you sure you canbite?”

Maximus turned to me, his chest puffed and shoulders wide as his smirk grew into a more deranged smile as, for the first time in my life, his entire attention was on me. He was not looking over me or through me. He was lookingat me.Despite all my wishes and dreams as a child, it made me sick to my stomach.

“I hate you,” I growled. “I hate you so much. You showed me endless cruelty through your indifference. You see people as nothing more than tools. You should never have allowed me to be born.”

“Alexandria.” My father stepped forwards, a piece of glass grinding beneath his slipper. “If you aim a gun at someone, you better be willing to shoot it.”

“My name,” I growled, staring him dead in the eye as my finger slipped over the trigger, “isAsh.”

BANG.

Pieces of ornate China crumbled to the floor, tangles of feathery limbs coming undone as the palm collapsed into a pile of dirt and dust.

Maximus laughed, the noise echoing off the tall walls as he looked down at the plant before him. It did not last. It soured into a bitter, angry frown.

“I was wrong. You have no teeth,” he spat, and despite my rage and pain, I still felt those words. They twisted in my stomach, and it only hurt more to know it affected me. “Your stepmother did a better job on you than I had thought. Tell me,child.” Maxwell grimaced, his energy sinking as he took a step backwards. “What is the range of your sight now?”

“Stay still!” I hissed, my fingers fumbling to aim the gun.

“Fifty feet, is it?” he mused, taking another long step backwards. And another.

“Stop!” I hissed, stepping forwards to follow him. My foot slid on a mix of glass and leaves, and I struggled to hold my balance as I trained the gun on him.

I do not have time.

“Sixty?” He stood beside the table and chair, and his hand leaned towards his cane. The visage was blurry, but I could still make out his form. My contacts were struggling, and my hands were shaking with adrenaline as I fought to steady myself once more.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

“INTERPOL! OPEN UP!” bellowed from behind the door as something heavy and loud slammed into the two ivory doors behind me.

The noise was enough of a distraction. My eyes moved a fraction, and Maximus lunged for his cane.

His hands wrapped around his thin neck as I heard the doors open behind me.

I was out of time.

I lifted my pistol as my father lifted his cane, and I glimpsed it—the barrel hiding within its long length. It was a concealed gun.

He raised the cane with ease, and I knew, if he pulled the trigger, he would make the shot.

Time moved slowly as door debris and glass shattered through the air and, for the last time, I stared into those cold dead eyes. Full icy merciless determination, ready to kill me for the last and final time. This was it. This was the end.

I closed my eyes and tightened my finger over the trigger.

At long last, everything was over.

I was free.

BANG.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

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