Page 154 of X's and O's
His eyes dead and soulless.
Like he’d already done the math.
Like he’d come to the same realization I had.
That it was him or me.
I went to assure him we were okay, but the words died on my lips again.
He had the knife clutched in his fingers.
“Eight.. Seven…”
He staggered forward, lurching, coming at me, the sharpened blade tight in his bloody fingers.
I shook my head, backing up slowly. “Tobes. No.”
“Six…five…”
Tears rolled down his face, but there was no emotion in his expression. Something deep inside him knew this wasn’t right, I was sure of it, but the fear had taken over, gripped him so tightly rational thought wasn’t an option.
“Four…three…”
His footsteps got quicker.
So did mine.
I backed up so fast, pleading with him, trying to snap him out of it. “Toby!”
My heart beat too fast.
“Two…”
I couldn’t breathe.
And I had nowhere else to go. Steel hit my back. He had me cornered.
Toby grabbed my arm roughly. The knife between us.
And I saw it in his expression. My best friend was no longer there. He had completely checked out and was operating out of sheer base instinct to survive.
The speaker crackled out its final warning.
“One.”
The end…for now.
The story continues in Whips and Chains, book 2 in the Saint View Murder Squad trilogy.
Check out www.ellethorpe.com for Saint View special editions, merch, and free bonus scenes.
WHISPERS AND WEDDINGS
1
REBEL
The bridal suite was pure chaos.
