Page 155 of Beautifully Shattered
The door to the van flies open, and Vender leaps out, rounding the front and diving into the driver’s seat.
Ringo reaches the van first, turning to me, but then his eyes go wide as he looks over my shoulder, and my stomach drops.
A second later, Tahli’s hand gets ripped from mine.
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My mother’s manic eyes lock with mine as she drags Tahli away. The entire parking lot is chaos as people run for their cars, black smoke billowing up as a car burns out of control. Yet she doesn’t seem to care that bystanders can see her fist Tahli’s hair, forcing her from me as Tahli screams.
I don’t know where Maggie is, and frankly, I don’t care. All I care about is getting my little sister to safety.
“Give her back, and I’ll let you live,” I snarl, matching each one of my mum’s steps as she hurries backwards.
“You can’t kill me here. Not with all these witnesses,” she hisses, like that will work in her favour.
I tilt my head, stalking her, my eyes never once breaking from hers.
“Why not? What doIhave to lose? You alreadykilledmy daughter. The only thing I have left is Tahli, and at least I knowshe’ll be safe with my husband and my friends. Unlike withyou. So yes,Priscilla,” I hiss her name, my satisfaction spiking when her face contorts with rage. “I willabsolutelykill you right here, right now, in broad daylight, with cameras and witnesses watching.”
And there it is. The flicker of panic. I really do love seeing it on her face.
To prove my point, I reach behind me and slip my gun out from under my coat.
She gasps as I lift it towards her, and just like I knew she would, she jerks Tahli in front of her, using her as a human shield.
“You’ll have to kill Tahli first!” Priscilla yells, but I storm forward, done playing.
“On your six, Angel,” Ringo’s voice comes from behind me, and I know he’s got a gun trained on my mum too, so I seize the moment, lunging forward to snatch Tahli free.
Priscilla’s hands shoot up, trembling in the air as she watches Tahli wrap herself around me, and I back away, holding my sister tight, before passing her off to Ringo once we’re clear.
“Let’s go,” Ringo orders, and even though I nod, I don’t move when he does. I stay rooted, my gun trained on my mum.
It would be so easy to just pull the trig—
A body slams into my side, sending me crashing sideways, my gun going off with a loud pop. I hit the ground hard, and before I even process who’s on top of me, a wild female screech explodes in my ear, fingernails tearing at me in a frenzy.
“Abbey!” Tahli cries from somewhere, but I can’t see anything as I fight to get this rabid bitch off me.
“I hateyou! You’ve ruined everything!” Maggie screams, her voice wild and unhinged, and somehow, I manage to twist a hand free, and land a punch straight into the side of her head.
Car tyres squeal as I right myself, sitting up to see my gun has slid under the car next to me. I scramble for it just as Maggie pushes herself off the ground, tears streaming down her face.
“You shot Mum!”
My brows hitch, and before I reach my gun, I spot Mum clutching her upper arm, blood soaking through her coat.
“It’s her arm. She’ll live,” I snap, quickly snatching the gun just as the van screeches to a stop beside me, the side door already open and Ringo’s hand reaching out.
“Time to go, Angel,” he urges, and I glance to my mum and Maggie and nod.
He’s right. It’s time to get the hell out of here.
Maggie doesn’t try to stop me again as I leap into the van. She just rushes to my mum’s side like the woman is dying.
A girl can dream, I guess.
As the van speeds away and the door slams shut, I’m left in the back with Ringo and my terrified little sister.
