Page 57 of Stray
“Good. Colt and Noah are going to play a little game. Empty the chamber of every bullet except one. Give it a good spin.” These fuckers were going to regret ever touching Codie.
They knew exactly what was up. Colt paled, obviously panicked now that he wasn’t in control. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Really?” Noah sneered from where Rebel and Casper tied his hands behind his back before shoving him onto his knees. “Russian roulette?”
“That’s right.” I kicked him hard in the ribs, making him double over. “As much as I would love to kill you both, I think we’ll let the gun decide. Keeps things exciting.”
Rebel nodded. “Works for me. Whichever one of you walks out of here alive gets to tell Damon that the clock is ticking on both of you.”
Noah and Colt exchanged a look. While Noah remained composed, his expression neutral, Colt began to meltdown.
“Please don’t fucking kill me. I’ll do anything. I swear.” He sounded as pathetic as he looked.
“Shut the fuck up, man,” Noah hissed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
As much as I hated the man, I respected Noah’s ability to face potential death without turning into a begging and pleading little bitch. He genuinely was the hardass he presented himself as.
“Screw you, Noah. This was all your idea. You’re supposed to be the leader without River and this is the kind of shit you get us into? I never should’ve listened to you.” Colt completely turned on his companion, willing to say or do anything to save his own ass.
“It was your fucking idea to grab Codie Edwards. Did you forget that part? God, you’re fucking useless.” Noah shot a scathing glare at Colt.
Dominik emptied the revolver chamber of every bullet except one. He gave it a spin as he locked the chamber back into place. “Who wants to go first?”
He stared especially long at Noah. Such vehemence burned in his dark hazel eyes. I studied him for a moment. Even though I’d been joking around with him about Noah the night ofthe accident, something told me I wasn’t wrong. Dominik looked at Noah like he wanted to choke the life out of him with his bare hands. And yet, I sensed something more there.
“Colt,” I said. “Colt goes first.”
I had no way of knowing who was going to take the bullet. It might be the first shot, the last, or any in between. Colt had been the one putting his hands all over my girl though. I may have been biased but I wanted to see a bullet in his forehead.
With a nod, Dominik pressed the barrel of the revolver against Colt’s head. He counted slowly to three, making the moment extra dramatic and tense. Then he pulled the trigger. A click and nothing more. Bummer.
Turning to Noah, he placed the gun against Noah’s head and again counted to three. Was it just me or did Dom’s finger hesitate on the trigger? If so, he recovered quickly. Another click.
Noah didn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink. Unlike Colt who was a shaking mess, begging us for mercy. We were entirely unmoved.
The third pull of the trigger was also an empty chamber. That had Colt completely coming apart. He was almost in tears.
“Come on,” he begged. “I’ll do anything. Give you any information I can. Whatever you want. Cut me a break here.”
“Should’ve thought of that before you groped my lady. You wanted to fuck her in front of me. Did you forget about that?” Taking the gun from Dom, I held it on Colt, ready to fire every single round into his face until the bullet fired.
Somehow, I managed to resist. I’d started this game, and I would finish it. I aimed at Noah for the fourth shot. Another click. We were getting close now.
Colt’s begging had turned into senseless mumbling. A few tears streaked down his face. I had no sympathy for him. He’d crossed a line that he could never come back from.
When I aimed at him for the fifth shot, a sense of satisfaction overtook me. This was it. This was the one. I could feel it.
“This is for Codie.” I pulled the trigger, watching as the bullet fired, burying itself in his forehead.
Colt pitched over backwards, going down on the concrete floor. Although it had been enjoyable, it didn’t feel as satisfying as I’d hoped. Maybe it had been too fast. Too easy. I should’ve tortured him first.
“Looks like it’s your lucky day, asshole.” Placing his boot on Noah’s chest, Dom gave him a hard shove. “Have you learned your lesson yet?”
A scream from outside broke through the relative quiet. Codie’s scream. Leaving the others to deal with Noah, I ran for the door.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CODIE
