Page 122 of Fall to Me
“That must be painful.” I nod in understanding with fake sincerity lacing my voice.
He snubs out his cigarette, but instead of using the glass I gave him, the mother fucker looks me in eyes as he drops the cigarette onto my marble floor. His body shifts on the stool, as he stomps it out. I’m surprised he at least had the decency to do that. I don’t know how long it’s been, but they need to hurry the fuck up or I’m going to end up taking him out.
His posture changes, and the look in his eyes becomes wild.
“You want to know what’s painful?” He snarls. “Seeing her with you!”
“I can see how witnessing that must’ve been upsetting to you.”
“You did this. You stole her from me.” He jabs the air, pointing at me.
I need to de-escalate this situation.
“What I hear you saying is that seeing River move on with someone else feels like a betrayal,” I say, trying to appease him, rubbing a hand over my jaw, the scruff prickling my palm.
He lifts the bottle to his lips and takes another sip of his beer then says, “It is a fucking betrayal. You’re not even her type. All you have that she wants is fame and money. You’ll never love her like I do.”
“You’re absolutely right. I’ll neverlove her like you do.”
There’s a bite to my tone, and I have to force myself to reel my emotions back in. I wiggle my fingers to keep my hands from clinching into fists . . . or knocking him out. When the fuck are they gonna get here? As the time drags on, I worry how much longer I can stay in this mindset and hold things together. My emotions are too tied up in this situation. I feel my mask slipping with each passing second.
“If you’ll never love her like I do, then why are you keeping her from me?” he asks, frowning, truly confused.
“Let me ask you a question, Jaxon?” He cocks his head to the side as I continue, “Is it something I’m doing or something you’re doing that’s keeping her away from you?”
I knew better than to ask that question to a narcissist, but my patience is wearing thin, and I’m barely holding it together. The air in the room shifts.
Fuck!
I can already see in his eyes that I’ve lost control and he’s snapping.
“You did this! You tried to keep us from seeing each other! You kept her fromme!” He screams, pounding his fist against his chest. “You think you’re so smart. Well, guess what? Every time I didn’t know where she was, you led me straight to her . . . Does it make you feel stupid to know you were talking to me the entire time? You didn’t hire a PI, you hired me. What a fucking idiot.”
We’re coming to a breaking point. If those officers don’t show up in the next few seconds, this is going to end very badly. I don’t respond. I keep a watchful eye on him as he laughs at my expense.
“That isn’t even the best of it. You hired me to find . . . well, me, and the entire time, I was right here under your nose, working in the surveillance room here in this very building. How do you think I knew you needed a PI and got your phone number? How the fuck do you think I got in here?”
He raises a brow, and my adrenaline spikes as he begins to shift.
“I have access to every penthouse in this building. Perks of being in security. Should’ve killed you both when I had the chance, but I’ll just settle on you.”
I rush him, catching a flash of metal right before I slam into him. We crash onto the floor as a shot rings out. My hand locks around the hot gun, wrestling to pry it free with one hand, my other arm stuck behind his back. His fist smashes into my face. My head whips to the side. Another blow to my ribs. My leg kicks a stool, and it crashes to the ground. The gun goes off again, the shot ringing in my ears as he rolls on top of me.
Both my hands finally wrap around the barrel. I shove it up and back towards his body, straining to gain control. My fist drives into his jaw. He quickly recovers, using that moment to point the gun back at my face.
Any further, I’ll be dead. I grit through my teeth, summoning all the power I can, and force the gun back up, pushing the barrel as far as I can towards his chin.
“Fuck you,” I growl, pushing the gun further with a final burst of strength as a deafening bang reverberates through the room.
Several officers pull Jaxon off of me, and I lose focus. I’m weak. Drained. Depleted of all energy.
My mind catches up, and the reality of what just happened settles in. I lift my head and look down at my body. Warm blood covers my entire chest. When I take a labored breath, I hear a crackle; it almost feels like air seeping through a crack at the end of a straw. As adrenaline begins to wane, pain like I’ve never felt sears throughout my chest. I feel my heart begin to pump harder and whooshing fills my ears.
Whoosh-whoosh.
Whoosh-whoosh.
My vision fades in and out. I’m going to die.
