Page 59 of 1st Shock
Charlie takes a step, coming closer.
Billy Ray points at her. "Stay there."
He's rattled again, sensing the situation slipping from him. I might as well push him, see if I can tap into his anger. "You have nowhere to go, Billy Ray. Charlie isn't about to let you kill me. And if you think I'll make this easy—" I finally meet my sister's gaze, "—thatwe will, you're wrong. You useless piece of shit."
His eyes flash and he squeezes again, the movement so quick, I can't react. The pressure is insane, and my throat collapses under his grip. I gag.Too much.I've pushed too far. In front of me, his body seems to expand, all that rage boiling up.
"Useless piece of shit," Charlie repeats, her voice smooth as custard on a summer day. "That's what Mickey used to call you."
Words piddle around in my head and I desperately try to get them in order. With my air cut off, I can't form a sentence. It's all...fuzzy. Just out of my cognitive reach.
I look straight into Billy Ray's eyes, determined not to blink back the tears. Allow myself to look more than a little desperate. If it'll distract him from Charlie, I'll give him the power.
"Useless piece of shit," Charlie says again.
She's totally fucking with him now and my oxygen-deprived brain finds this amusing.
I laugh and Billy Ray releases me with a brutal shove that sends me sideways. He swings to Charlie, his hands in motion as he reaches for his waist.
Knife!
That few seconds is all I need. I roll, somehow getting to my knees as Billy Ray unsheathes that knife and takes a step toward my sister.
A vision of Avery and Emily, their skulls on stands in my office, fills my foggy mind.
Not again. Never again.
I stand, wobbling as I get my footing, but Billy Ray, he's in the throes of a Charlie-induced rage that has him forgetting all about little-'ol-me. He takes another step toward her, knife at the ready.
Not happening.
Never again.
Go.
In two strides I'm on him, but the realization of his circumstances hits him, and he stops, pivots back to me. Perfect.Before he can complete the turn, my eyes blur. It's okay. I know what I have to do, and I don't need my eyes for it. Agonizing hours of my sister's lectures and practice sessions have left me with razor-sharp instincts. I kick out, firing every ounce of hate and pain I can muster to the heel of my boot. I connect with flesh. Success. I kick again, watch as my foot bashes his crotch and the open-mouthed look on his face? The shock and pain?
Better than winning the lottery.
A vicious howl fills the air. Billy Ray screaming. My ears ring and I shake my head, force myself to focus on the man rolling on the ground holding his crotch.
I've probably crushed his balls and he didn't even see it coming.
I stand there, staring at him. Waiting for him to move so I can blast him again.
Knife.
On the floor. Next to him. What I've done, what could’ve happened here slams me. An absolute landslide of terror that paralyzes me.
A flash of movement catches my eye as Charlie kicks the knife away, sending it skittering against the wall. Behind her, a rush of bodies charge through the doorway and the she-shed is suddenly filled with men in tactical gear. And JJ, Grey, and Matt.
The men in my life are all here.
Of course. They weren't about to miss this.
After all, the Schock sisters have just captured a serial killer.
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