Page 166 of Lush

I drove the knife down.

Her fingers closed around my wrist, a surprising firmness in her grip. We struggled, arms shaking, the blade inches from her throat. I pressed down and she dug her fingers into me; it was scary how strong she was, even hurt.

“Fucking die!” she screamed, bucking beneath me.

With a sharp twist, she wrenched my arm sideways, and I heard a sickening crack. The knife slipped from my grasp. A coldwave of fear washed over me, and my stomach lurched violently.

Then she punched me square in the jaw.

My head snapped back, vision blurring for a split second.

That was all she needed.

With a sudden, harsh shove, she sent me tumbling. I hit the floor, gasping, but I was already up and moving. I scrambled for the knife, and she went for the gun.

I’m not dying tonight.

I grabbed the knife, twisted—and drove it into her side.

A gurgle escaped her lips, as the gun clattered to the ground. For a second, neither of us moved. Her fingers trembled against her side, blood pooling beneath her palm.

I took a shaky step back.

“I can’t die, Laurene.” She turned her head. “I can’t… My son.”

What the fuck?

“Your son? What son?”

She nodded, and she stumbled, clutching the knife in her side.

“Conrad’s son,” she rasped.

Conrad’s son?

Conrad had a son.A child.

She lifted her blood-soaked hand, as if to reach out to me. “I never meant for any of this to happen.”

I took a step back. She was still standing, but then a moment of evil clarity appeared in her eyes, and Nina’s gaze flicked to the gun on the floor.

I bolted.

The door burst open behind me as I hurled myself through it, my balance breaking. I tumbled down the stairs, my knees slamming into the dirt, but I barely felt it. Adrenaline burned through my veins.

A gunshot cracked the air.

I flinched, ducking instinctively, but I didn’t stop.

My legs were already driving forward, knees pumping high, feet tearing through the thick, clawing underbrush. Thorns scraped at my skin, twigs snapped underfoot, and dry leaves crunched as the woods swallowed me whole.

I heard Nina behind me. “You can’t run away!”

Another shot rang out, the bullet whizzing past me into a tree.

I had to live. For my siblings, for the dream of owning my gallery, for Reese. I envisioned a future with him: kids, a house, growing old together.

I couldn’t let her win.

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