Page 58 of Revenge

Chapter Thirty-Five

Charlee

Two shots ring out.

One.

Two.

The backup lights come on, and all I see is blood. Blood everywhere. The bald guy who was holding Kelsey is slumped over the table bleeding out, but Kelsey is missing. Marco’s lifeless body is lying on the floor near my feet with a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead and lifeless eyes staring off into nothing, and Lola’s dead body is sprawled out on the stage.

I open my mouth to scream, but there’s no time for me to react or even make a run for it. A pair of rough hands grab me by the throat, and I’m shoved back against a rock hard chest.

“Don’t fucking move, Charlee,” Eddie grunts in my ear as he uses me as a human shield. He holds his gun out in front of him with his other hand and whips his gaze back and forth, scanning the room for any sign of Asher, keeping me right in front of him, but comes up empty. The spotlight is shining in our faces and making it hard to see much of anything.

“Let her go.” My heart pounds against my chest at the sound of Asher’s voice. He’s really here.

“Make me.” Eddie’s laughter vibrates against the middle of my back.

“Six years, Eddie. Six years of swallowing the bullshit only to find out that you’re the one who took it all away from me.”

“You were getting too close,Amigo. I already killed my last partner when he realized Benny was really working for me. Another one would raise suspicion. It was much cleaner this way.” Eddie shrugs like he didn’t destroy Asher’s life.

“Why, Ed? Tell me why you did it? You had dinner at my fucking house for Christ’s sakes.”

“Money. What else? It’s the root of all evil.” Eddie’s fingers dig deeper into my shoulder the longer he searches Asher out. A noise sounds off to our right and he fires off a shot into the dark.

“You missed,partner.” Asher’s voice sounds much closer this time. He’s taunting Eddie, toying with him like a predator does with its prey right before it attacks.

“No more games. Come out right now, or I’ll put a bullet in her fucking head.” He sniffs my hair and groans. “And it’d be a fucking shame for history to repeat itself because she’s a hot piece. Don’t you think?”

Asher charges from the darkened corner of the room, knocking us to the ground. “You took everything from me, Eddie. And now I’m going to take from you.”

I manage to roll away from them as they start wrestling around on the floor. My eyes scan around the darkened room for a way to escape, but I’m wedged into a tight corner between the stage and the bar with nowhere to go. I’m stuck like a sitting duck and forced to watch them fight it out. I’ve never felt so helpless.

Eddie attempts to bring the gun up to Asher’s face, but Asher slams his hand down against the floor repeatedly until it falls from his grasp. Eddie grunts, but manages to slug Asher in the side of the head. Asher falls back, losing his balance, and Eddie takes advantage. He jumps to his feet and dives for his gun, but Asher’s just as quick and kicks the gun a few feet in front of them.

Both of them end up face to face with their fists raised in a boxing stance. Asher’s blue eyes are sizing him up and waiting him out.

“Let’s see if you’re still as tough as you were, old man.”

Eddie lets out a hollow laugh as they bob and weave. “Cyrus should have killed you the first time I told him to, but the dumb fuck wanted to play with his food first and he ended up screwing me.” His right hook manages to nail Asher across the cheek.

“I’m going to kill you.” He gets a few more hits in before Eddie manages to gain the upper hand and knocks Asher upside the head with the butt of the gun.

I pry myself up off the floor and creep backward in search of an exit, but don’t make it very far.

“You’re not going anywhere, Charlee.” Eddie has his weapon aimed in my direction. All of the commotion fades into a shroud of silence as I stare down the barrel of his gun. My body freezes in place and my feet refuse to budge. I lift my hands in surrender, doing my best to slow my racing pulse.

“Leave her out of this.” A muscle jumps in his cheek, but that’s the only hint of emotion on his face. “This is between you and me.”

“You never could resist being the hero, could you? And that’s your biggest weakness.” Eddie cocks his gun back and tilts his head. “I’m sorry about this. I really am, but I’ve come too far to have it all turn to shit.” His finger pulls back on the trigger and my heart stops. This is it. This is how I die.

The ear piercing sound is nothing compared to the pain that explodes inside me the moment the bullet tears through my stomach. Blood fills my vision. Like a kaleidoscope of color, it seeps into the material of my shirt. My legs give out from under me as I fall to the ground.

“No!” Asher aims his gun at Eddie and empties the chamber into him as I hear Kelsey scream my name.

Footsteps thump against the ground, stopping near my head as I stare up at the black ceiling. Kelsey drops to her knees next to me, her face a pale and bruised mess. She blurs in and out of focus as the burning of my insides overtakes me. “Charlee, no!” Tears spill down Kelsey’s cheeks as her body lies against mine and trembles.

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