Page 207 of Things Left Unsaid

Many things can be said about me, but one of them is that I’m a damn good shot.

When he jumps up, I quickly reload and hit the ground to his right side. I do the same thing to his left.

“You want to keep dancing, I have all night,” I jeer.

“Fuck you,” the guy snaps. “We came here to deal?—”

“No deals. No drugs. Nothing. You touch any part of my property and I won’t waste my breath talking to the RCMP. I’ll blow your fucking heads off.”

“You’re making a mist?—”

“No.Youmade a mistake by coming here tonight.Youmade a mistake by growing weed on my land. Andyoumade a mistake by thinking I’d be afraid to stand my ground.”

My words are punctuated by the sound of my shotgun cocking.

That’s when I hear a booted footstep scraping on the gravel driveway.

It’s closer than the asshole I’m talking to, so I turn toward the sound and shoot.

To the biker’s screams, I holler, “I wasn’t trying. Next time, I’ll aim to kill.”

“He got me, Razer. My fucking knee.” The asshole cries out in pain. “Oh, my fucking?—”

“You’ll regret that,” one of the guys snarls.

“No. You will. Come around here again and you’ll pay.”

I hear thudding this time, but it’s quickly followed by a dragging sound.

Next thing I know, the bikes are roaring to life and they’re driving off.

I don’t put down my weapon until the sound of the crankshafts is a whisper in the distance, and only then do I turn on my heel.

Adrenaline’s flooding my system but it’s a high I’m not afraid of. This land is mine and there’s no one alive who’ll steal it from me.

Once I’ve locked the door, I turn and find Callan, Mum, and Mrs. Abelman standing in the vestibule, all of them in their pajamas.

“It’s okay,” I assure them. “They’re gone.” I stab a finger in the air at Callan. “We’ll need to fix our gate if they gained access to our driveway.”

He hisses. “I’ll call Theo and we’ll take care of it now.”

Mum’s mouth trembles. “You shouldn’t have dealt with them alone.”

“They won’t be coming around anymore. Go back to bed.”

“I can put pressure sensors on the driveway,” Callan offers.

“No. Any more security features and this place is going to make us look like Bond villains. Go on. Bed. The lot of you.”

Mrs. Abelman sniffs her disdain for my edict, but it’s Mum who grumbles, “Who’s the parent here?”

Still, they retreat to their respective rooms and I make my way to the gun safe, where I lock up the shotgun. Then, I head upstairs. Which is where I find her sitting on the top step.

It’s oddly reminiscent of the day Lydia died—Zee watching and waiting for me, protecting me in her own way… Something nobody has ever done before.

As I climb the stairs, I ask, “You okay?”

“You were in danger!”

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