Page 143 of Retribution

His body launches backwards from the impact and he drops to the floor.

My ears ring from the sound and the adrenaline in my veins causes my body to erupt into uncontrollable shakes.

I sit up, glancing at his body with the large pool of blood surrounding him.

Holy fuck.

His body is still, unmoving. Dead, maybe.

Scrambling out of the car, I step over the dead-weight and rush towards the doors that I saw Indie disappear through. As much as I’m wanting to see Willow, I’m praying to God that she’s not in this house with these crazy fuckers.

I slip through the door with my back pressed against the wall, the gun held up at my chest. My heart pounds against my chest, making it difficult to hear anything over it.

I hear footsteps down the corridor and I slyly move along the wall, popping my head out to get a better look.

A woman stands with her back to me, her brown hair medium length and she’s wearing a pair of jean shorts and a bikini top. I hold my breath and take aim, steadying my stance and my hands.

I think it’s about time to see if my training paid off.

My finger hovers over the trigger shakily, I wait until she steps more central into my view.

The fuck?

She turns and I lose my nerve instantly, shrinking back around the corner.

I’m seeing things now, right?

I swallow and blink a few times, bringing my head around the corner again. She sips from a soda can and looks upwards, making the birthmark on her neck prominent. I can’t fucking believe it.

It’s Lottie.

I fucking knew she had something to do with it, she knew far too much for her role in our lives, the cards, fuck. I need to get to Indie; I don’t trust any of them.

A sharp piercing scream can be heard from upstairs as I hear Lottie’s footsteps dash up the staircase.

That better not be my wife.

Following after her, I keep myself concealed and climb the double staircase. I flinch at the sound of Indie’s voice.

“You crazy fucking bitch!” She screams.

My eyes grow wide, and my instinct almost takes over, my legs almost setting out into a sprint towards the sound of it.

You are going to be no help if you’re dead, Reed.

I creep closer to the room, sliding along the wall and following the red train of carpet running through the middle of the tiled flooring. I can hear muffled conversation behind the door and I reload the pistol, letting out a hasty breath. I tighten my lips and then kick the door open, my gun pointed directly into the room.

My legs buckle beneath me as I drop the gun, the air knocked out of me.

“Nice of you to finally join us, my darling husband.”

Chapter 31

Reed

I pick my gaze up from the floor in front of me as I struggle to breathe. My mind is rearranging itself, flipping everything inside out, looking for reality. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly and reopen them.

Her blonde hair is cut into a bob, her green eyes burning into me with fury as she points a gun at me. Everything is wrong, everything is confusing and muddled and I can’t even string a sentence together for fuck’s sake.

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