Page 115 of Sliding Into Love
An uncanny calm settled over Ivy. It was jarring after the anxiety of the day, being on edge and waiting for lightning to strike. Whatever happened, afterward, she knew it would all be over.
A blink and it was as though she’d been separated from her body, looking down at the scene from above. Marshall, still agitated and ranting about names and winning and blaming everyone but himself. Lawrence, glancing between Ethan and Marshall. Ethan, frozen in a way she’d never seen him before. And Ivy, in the center of all of them.
“-vid Lorne would never have let somegirlcome between him and winning!”
Ivy came back to herself in another blink, with Marshall still spewing bullshit.
“Ethan did win you colossal fuckface.” Ivy snapped, speaking directly to Marshall.
“He didn’t leadmyteam to victory!” Marshall snarled.
“Maybe if you’d tried, I don’t know,leadinginstead of pitting players against each other or forcing them to play while injured, you might have won more often. And you might have coached the Hawks to the pennant. But it’s too late now.”
Marshall’s placid face devolved into a mask of pure rage.
“David Lorne died alone and angry. And so will you.” From behind her, Ethan's voice was quiet, but it cut through Marshall’s hissing and spitting. “Youare the one who’s useless.” His voice grew stronger, and he gently pulled Ivy to his side, emerging from behind her. “What did you ever do? How many years of coaching, and already people have forgotten your name?” Marshall tried to speak, but Ethan wasn’t finished. “You— what— you heard my name and thought you’d ride it to the top? I’m not my grandfather. I’m not going to cheat and fight my way to winning.”
Marshall shifted, casting an uneven shadow onto the brick wall behind him.
“Nice speech, boy.” Crooked yellow teeth split into a frightening grin. “Did you practice in the mirror? Did she tell you what to say?”
“Shut up, I’m not done.” Gravel coated Ethan's voice. “And you.” Turning to face Lawrence, he came out from behind Ivy. “You.” His voice was raspy with rage and sadness, and Ivy’s heart cracked at the pain she heard.
“I know.” Lawrence’s voice was low, but it carried in the brick-enclosed space. “I know.” Louder, this time. “I saw how angry you got when you were younger, and I thought…”
“I was a hormonal teenager! With the constant pressure you put me under, what did you expect?” Lawrence tried to speak, but Ethan kept going. “I AM NOT MY GRANDFATHER! I DID NOT MAKE HIS MISTAKES!” It was as if Ethan had exploded after so many years of taking every vile thing they’d thrown at him. Now, he stood in front of Ivy, his fists balled up at his sides, and a sick awareness surged through her.
Ethan still didn’t know about the gun.
With Marshall’s focus fully on Ethan, Ivy waved her fingers low by her side to get Lawrence’s attention.
Gun, she mouthed when he shifted toward her.He’s got a gun.She made a gun with her fingers to emphasize. A fraction of a nod was the only confirmation that Lawrence understood.
“Marshall!” Lawrence shouted, pulling the other man’s gaze away from Ethan. As slowly as she could, Ivy reached out to grab his hand and squeezed. Hard. Hard enough to convey something was wrong. He squeezed back, but Ivy still had no way to explain with his back to her.
A streetlight on the corner flashed out with a loud pop and a shower of sparks, sending more weird shadows skittering down the alley.
Startled, Marshall did what Ivy had expected from the beginning — he pulled the gun and pointed it point-blank at Ethan's chest.
“Gregory.” Warning tinged Lawrence’s voice, but it was as though Marshall only saw Ethan.
Ethan acted as if he didn’t even see the gun. Heaving breaths shook his back, and he shifted further in front of Ivy, spreading his arms wide—to grab Marshall or hide Ivy from him— she didn’t know.
From behind Ethan, Ivy could no longer see Marshall, but Ethan shifted, readying to move. Muscles tensing, Ivy settled into a crouch, ready to tackle Ethan around the knees to keep him from lunging at Marshall when she saw a flutter of movement out of the corner of her eye and
— WHAM —
Then — BANG —
Screaming echoed throughout the alley along with footsteps as people flooded in, and Ivy realized the screaming was coming from her own mouth.
“Ethan!”
Several heartbeats drowned out the noise before Ivy realized the dark wall in front of her wasn’t a wall. The wall was her fiancé, shaking and confused, but whole.
“Ethan?”
A groan came from the ground. Two bodies lay there— Marshall and Lawrence. Marshall lay startlingly still, a slow trickle of blood dripping from a wound in the back of his head. Lawrence, however, was not still. He lay sprawled on the ground, clutching his arm to his chest.
