Page 29 of Vengeful Valentine

The gun clicked in my mouth.

Empty.

Thrill, exhilaration,adrenalineset fire to my skin, soaking me in its heat.

Silas had already started this night in an enjoyable, albeit expected, way and now Hawk was pushing me past limits I had never gone before.

Why was I soaked at the thought of my possible demise? That these men held my life in their hands?

Ace would be angry. He was the softest of the three, the sweetest. He covered it in tattoos and hardened muscles, but he was a teddy bear.

One that had quite literally taken the fall for me. Forced me to testify against him.

I had, but with the promise that I would do whatever it took to get him out early.

Hawk pulled the gun from my mouth and I swallowed a few times, catching my breath.

The metallic flavor left in its wake was enjoyable and I licked my teeth.

I examined Hawk carefully. The news of his attempted suicide, while heart-wrenching, wasn’t too shocking. I knew how desperately he never wanted to be alone, but he didn’t give me any choice.

“It’s your turn now,” Hawk instructed. “Tell me a story. And when you are done, I want you to put this gun to my head and pull the trigger.”

He rammed the weapon into my hand. The cold metal scratched against my skin, but I paid it no mind.

“Once upon a time…” I began.

Hawk grumbled, but I waved a hand dismissing him.

“I promise it’ll be a good one.” I shifted up the bed, leaning against the headboard. I wanted to make this quick, get to the point of it. “Once upon a time, there was a girl that didn’t feelanything. Not a single normal emotion she was told that others had: pain, love,remorse. What was empathy? What was sympathy? What was agony? For a while she simply went about her days wearing a mask and calling herselfnormal.” I bared my teeth.

Hawk’s brow furrowed. Clearly he hadn’t expected this, but he didn’t interrupt me again.

“She was pretty,sweet, kind, innocent.Others saw her as an angel, but that wasn’t true at all. She was a monster. A monster that wanted to hurt anyone who crossed her. But then came along three boys. For some reason, the monster took an interest in them.Wanted them. Loved them. Was in love with them. But the three boys called hersisterand forced her to behave. Shoved her into a box labeled naïve and left her there to wither away. She knew all too well how to play make believe and so she went along with it.”

I licked my lips, biting down on the bottom one hard enough to draw blood. The copper flavor was a welcome reminder that my heart still beat in my chest.

“This little monster had learned from a young age how to dispose of those that hurt her. How to act as prey to attract even the deadliest predator. First there was her father, a drunken asshole that needed to disappear. When she had rid herself of him, she fled her home in search of a better life. Instead, she ended up in foster care. With no records and no family, she was tossed from home to home, a nameless girl. Some homes were good, others not so much. But the little monster didn’t care. She knew how to protect herself. And eventually when she found her way to Jerald’s home, she decided on a name. There were three boys there. Ace, Silas, and Hawk. And when she met them? For the first time in her life, she feltsomething.She was determined then and there that they would be hers and she would be theirs. And so she called herself Ashmine. A name made from the product of her environment, taken from a distant future.”

I pointed the gun at Hawk.

“So, to answer your question, Hawk? Yes, I believe in fate. I believe that we make our own. Are you ready to listen to the rest of my story now? Or do you need to hurt me? Do you need to fuck me raw? Do you need to shoot me first?”

Hawk’s mouth opened on anObut I didn’t wait for a response.

My patience had run out, it was time.

I fired the gun in rapid succession over his shoulder.

It took three more clicks to get to the bullet.

Bang!

Chapter 16

Ashmine

Hawk jumped the smallest fraction as the bullet lodged into the wall above him.

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