Page 330 of Wrong Pucking Player

“But I didn’t give up, especially when this hockey initiative came at the perfect time. It was a pain to be patient for the right moment, but then it came when my Sweet Alexandra came to save her nursing friend.”

He uses his free hand to reach out and gently stroke my cheek.

I can feel the tension in the room intensify, but no one dares move.

“At first, I was going to kill you to teach Wyatt a lesson, but then he’d probably bounce back like he did with his mother’s death. I didn’t want something so simple. I needed him to suffer agonizingly. Make it so the world is moving forward without him but have it so he’s still alive to experience the agony of being forgotten.”

His smile widens, like a proud sicko who’s waited his whole life for this moment.

“So, I decided to use my old magic tricks to good use,” he whispers before he’s gripping my chin. “Alexandra. Close your eyes.”

I frown in defiance, but I force myself to obey.

“What are you doing?” Officer Melody demands. I hear her voice from further left, meaning she could be standing next to Officer Klettskarð.

“I’m going to countdown for one minute. If anyone interrupts or even makes a sound, not only will I leave a bullet in her chest, but she’ll never regain her memories of Wyatt ever again.”

The silence in the room is deafening as Frankie laughs.

“And no magician from America will be able to undo it,” he declares. “I noticed your group of fools were trying to find a hypnotist. In fact, I enjoyed listening in briefly in that convo with my unique ways of hacking into hospital phones, but the connection suddenly died, so I didn’t get much. Amusing for you to think I’d give you the opportunity to try to destroy my best magic trick yet.”

We all have to endure his manic laughter before he sighs and doesn’t even give a warning before he’s counting down.

“60. 59. 58.”

All of us are left in a tense state as we wait for him to continue counting down. I know these are my final moments because out of everyone here, I know Frankie.

This is merely a game to postpone the inevitable.

He knows what he wants to do.

What he must do in order to destroy Wyatt’s life forever.

Get rid of me.

And now he’s about to obtain all he’s been working toward. He won’t let anyone take that away from him.

“10. 9. 8.”

I inhale deeply and hold my breath.

“3. 2—”

The loud bang of a gunshot makes everyone flinch and open their eyes to see Frankie’s hand in the air with his gun in his grasp — the barrel executing a stream of smoke.

Meaning he broke the spell before it could be undone.

“You thought I was going to let her remember you?!” He’s on the verge of laughing hysterically. “Never! Haha!”

He’s losing it, but this is exactly what I wanted.

Which is why another gun goes off, followed by Frankie’s screams.

Everyone gasps while we watch Frankie use his left hand to grasp his right wrist, which is bleeding profusely because his hand was blown right off.

The gun in his possession is on the floor, but no one pays attention to it because all eyes are on me.

My gun pressed into Frankie’s chest.

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