Page 265 of Like Grim Death: Part One
Something we never had.
Something I wanted with Ella.
But Ella is—
I turn from Brooklin, snatching the gun I dropped up from the floor and stepping back toward the opposite wall as I aim at her with both hands.
I level with her head. I want to pull the fucking trigger. My hand shakes, my chest is heaving. I’ve never wanted anything more than the way I want to murder my own sister, right now, in this moment. Lucifer would have killed Mikhail and we would have Ella back if it wasn’t for my sister.
Ella, on her knees… It flashes inside my head. Yellow bile, red welts, blackened flesh. My precious, beautiful girl. She did the best she could. She tried her damndest to belong.
Brooklin made it harder for her all while she manipulated me with that fucking phone call.
Did she make it all up? Why? For what purpose?
My finger is against the trigger. Brooklin doesn’t move, her eyes wide on me. She doesn’t hold up her hands, either, to defend herself. And further down the hall, Lucifer doesn’t say a word to stop me. Neither does Sid. On my other side, Cain, Ezra, they’re also silent.
Atlas too.
Ophelia is crying but no one fucking cares.
“Do it,” Brooklin goads me, her blue eyes shining. She’s in a pink T-shirt and black shorts. Her blonde hair is sticking up all over the place, but her eyes are clear, like she’s fully awake. “I know you can’t stand me. It’s why you let me go. It’s how I found Jeremiah. You never came for me. You would have gone through hell forSid,but you nevercame for me!”It’s a low scream. A violent sort of pain.
I caress the trigger. My arm isn’t shaking anymore. The beat of my heart feels as if it nearly slams through my chest, but my feet are firmly planted. Brooklin’s temple is in my line of sight.
“And when did you introduce me toSevryn,Maverick?”
I don’t know where he is now, and I don’t care. I bite down on my back teeth. The penthouse doesn’t exist for me anymore. Ella is out there waiting for me. Thinking I don’t love her. Thinking once again, I’m putting everyone before her.
“When did you even bother to mention him? When did you decide it would be a good idea for me to know what thefuckis going on with you?”
She takes a step closer.
I lift the gun higher, to remind her it’s here.
She stops.
I stare at the smooth skin between her brows. I remember loving her so fiercely. I would have died for her. I almost killed Atlas because I knew I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t stop what our dad would do. And I wanted someone to pay.
Because no one touches Brooklin.
No one touches Brooklin.
“They asked me what you wanted. Who you would choose.” She steps closer. “I went to find Elijah. To ask him about our mother’s test after I found the papers. TohelpElla.” Her voice is hoarse.
I don’t blink.
Another step.
“I found Mikhail at Sanctum instead, and he asked me who you wanted.”
I swallow down saliva, feel the way it coats the dryness of my throat.
“They are fucking horrible people, but everyone around us, since we were born, they’ve always been that haven’t they, Mav?” She drops her voice to a whisper. Takes another step.
I flex my fingers around the grip of the gun.
Another step.
