Page 105 of Castle

He’d killed Dayana unknowingly.

Wait a minute...

Why was she wearing a complete replica of the maroon gown I was wearing?

It made sense now. Dayana probably entered the garden maze to stop Devin, and Devin knew what I was wearing. He’d mistaken her for me and shot her.

He didn’t know that it was his sister!

Devin leveled his eyes towards me. Now they held a maniac glint. “It’s all your fault she’s dead!”

I stood frozen on the spot, and then logic came to me as I realized I needed to get away from him before he killed me for real this time.

I scrambled in the opposite direction, going deeper into the maze

But his hand jutted out as he yanked me, and I crashed to the ground. A bolt of sharp pain shot through my arm. I was pretty sure I’d broken my arm by now. Ignoring the pain, I made my way out of there.

Devin reached for his gun again when Castle tackled him, sat on top of him and powerful fists came raining down on Devin. The two were wrestling against each other for dominance. Blood covered their faces as they continued to struggle.

“I will kill you!” Devin shrieked. His visceral need for vengeance made him a dozen times more lethal. It fueled his aggression. “If I’d just killed you that day, none of this would have happened! My baby sister would still be alive…” He let out a low moan as he continued to pound his fists into Castle.

“Let him go!” I jumped into their fight to pull him off Castle, but he swung his arm so hard, I fell to the side.

Devin’s hands came around Castle’s neck as he tried to choke him. His teeth gritted and his face contorted like a man who’d fallen off into the dark side. Castle gasped for breath. He was fighting for his life, trying to get Devin off of him.

He was going to kill Castle!

“Stop! Please…” I cried.

I looked around for something.

Anything would work against him.

“You destroyed my family!” Devin screamed, a loud wail of frustration.

I spotted a gardening spade left there at the corner by the gardeners. I saw Devin pull out a jackknife from his pocket and he was ready to plunge it into Castle.

I knew I wouldn’t make it in time. It’s something you realize at that crucial point of time that Castle’s death was apparent. I wasn’t fast enough.

I picked it up and made a run towards him when another gunshot reverberated, stopping me dead in my tracks.

Who’d done that?

I spun around to look.

In the darkness surrounding the maze, I saw a small form standing at a distance, tears streaming down his face and his hands shaking visibly.

Chandler was holding a gun.

A spot of blood began spreading on Devin’s shirt. He clenched it, staring at his youngest brother in bafflement. “What the fuck, Chandler?! How dare you!”

“You killed Dayana, and now you’re trying to kill Castle, who gives me two thousand dollars for a monthly allowance! You gave me a hundred. I can’t go back to that!” Chandler burst out.

“You little shit!” Devin swore, frustrated. “Put that gun down! Now!”

He raised the knife again to stab Castle when another bullet penetrated his body.

This time in his neck.