Page 114 of Kings of Westbrook High

“You know too much.” She shrugs, stepping closer to crowd my space.

“I told you I won’t say anything.”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Callie.” She rolls her eyes, lifting the gun to my temple to get the angle she wants. “I know you and your stepbrothers despise me, and I know your loyalties lie with them. You’ll run your bitchy little mouth the first chance you get. I can’t risk that.”

“So you’re gonna kill me?”

“Don’t take it personally, my dear. It’s just business.”

“Killing a psychotic murderer is one thing.” I glare, looking her dead in the eye. “What makes you think you have the stomach to kill an innocent?”

“Innocent?” She laughs, shaking her head at me. “Oh, honey, you really have no idea, do you? I’ve killed people far more innocent than you. Some of them were rather sweet, actually.”

My heart rattles in my chest and I pull my brows in, feigning confusion. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

She smirks, mistaking the look in my eyes for fear. “Well, since you’re about to die anyway, you might as well know. I had my ex-husband killed in a car accident just for a quick divorce and a mediocre pay check. Then I kidnapped your boyfriend’s little bitch of a mother from a motel parking lot in Vegas and force fed her a bunch of her own painkillers until she fell asleep and never woke up again.” She taunts me, getting in my face. “Do you know why, daughter?”

I shake my head, struggling to pull air into my lungs I’m that fucking high on adrenaline. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to.” She hisses, speaking through her teeth. “I wanted the Kingston life and I took it. I did what I needed to do to get where I am today and now I have everything I’ve ever wanted. But you?” She snarls, twisting the gun into my temple. “I never wanted you, anyway.”

I lock my jaw, waiting for it.

Then she looks me dead in the eye and pulls the motherfucking trigger.

No hesitation.

No emotion.

No guilt.

No bullet.

Her nostrils flare and she tries again, growling like an angry dog when she pulls seven more times and nothing happens. I smirk, pushing off the closet door to bump her chest with mine.

“You really think I’d allow you to hold a loaded gun to my head?” I tease, pulling the bullets from my pocket.

She swallows, unable to hide the fear in her eyes when I snatch the gun from her hand. “W-What are you doing?”

“Oh, me?” I laugh, blindly tossing it across the room. “Nothing at all, Mother. You’ve just done it for me.”

She backs up some more and I keep walking into her, not stopping until she’s outside on my balcony.

“Callie..” She panics, jumping when her back hits the railing. “What-”

“Turn around.”

She hesitates but does as she’s told, slowly leaning over the balcony to eye the huge group of cops and reporters gathered outside the main doors of the Palace, all watching the big screen set up across the street with her face on it.

“No.” She gasps, fisting the railing in a death grip. “No, no, no, no, no.”

“..you’re about to die anyway, you might as well know. I had my ex-husband killed in a car accident just for a quick divorce and a mediocre pay check. Then I kidnapped your boyfriend’s little bitch of a mother from a motel parking lot in Vegas and force fed her a bunch of her own painkillers until she fell asleep and never woke up again..”

He finally rushes me and I release the breath I was holding, leaning back on his chest while he wraps his arms around me and holds me close.

“You fuckin’ did it, punk.” He rasps, pressing his mouth to my neck. “You got her.”

I grin, nodding because yeah, I did.

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