Page 267 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
To my breaking point.
“Did you like hiding for the last ten years because you were scared of me? Scared of what was coming for you? Scared of what is standing in front of you right now?”
I did a little taunting of my own, wanting to direct his malevolence toward me instead of Piper.
More gunshots and shouts echoed from outside, and a siren whirred in the distance.
“Sounds like your time is just about up,” I told him.
“Piper was there.” He shrugged like that made her guilty. Implicated her. Something I was pretty sure he’d held over her head. “What do you think is gonna happen to her once they finally catch up to her? The police have been looking for her for years.”
“Come on.” I tried to keep the tremoring out of my voice. “You really think a judge is going to buy that? We all know who’s guilty here. Except the only judge you’re going to stand in front of is me.”
A spurt of vengeance busted free.
Toga kept the gun pointed at Piper’s temple as he dipped down and grabbed a knife from the floor, his eyes pinned on me as he sawed the blade through the ropes at her wrists and feet.
He jerked her to standing.
Piper winced in pain.
He kept behind her. Using her as a shield like the pathetic motherfucker he was.
I itched, hungry to get my hands around his neck.
To squeeze until he was on the brink of death before I brought him back then did it again. Over and over until he didn’t know if he was alive or in hell.
Then it’d be my pleasure to send him there.
He gritted his teeth. “I’m gonna walk out that door with her so she can lead me to what’s mine, and you’re gonna let me.”
“Yeah, you should know that’s not going to happen.”
My finger twitched on the trigger of my gun, prepared for when I could get in a clean shot.
A terrified whine came out of Piper. Her fear patent, though there was something so ferocious on her face.
My insides howled. I wanted to erase it. Keep the promise that I would never let this bastard get to her.
“Theo…just go. It’s okay,” she wheezed through the torment.
She pled it with those blue, blue eyes. So warm and brave and beautiful.
Willing to give it all for those she loved.
Another shot and shouts, and an Owl suddenly burst through the door. Otto was on his tail, shouting, “On your knees or you die.”
It was enough that it caught Toga by surprise.
Enough that he let his guard down for a fraction of a second.
Loosening his hold on Piper as his attention snapped that way.
“Piper, get down!” I shouted.
She let go of all her weight and dropped to the ground.
Toga swung his gun at me at the same second as I began to fire.
