Page 115 of Such a Good Girl

I’d failed us all.

“Joey, what’s going on, man? Why are you doing this?” West asked, lowering his voice to a gentle tone. He stepped in front of Rian and Theo, facing Joey directly. I watched the gun between them, Joey’s trembling finger lingering close to the trigger.

“You know why!” Joey hissed, his face crumbling.

“Tell me,” West said.

“Because I fucking love you, West! I’ve given you everything!” he exploded in a burst of emotion.

“Joey, I’m sorry. You know I value you as an employee. But I’m not gay.”

“You kissed me!”

West’s eyes widened. He shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Joey. I didn’t kiss you.”

“Yes, you did!” he insisted, sniffling. “In the hotel in San Francisco when we were there for the film festival. I knew you didn’t remember the next morning, but West, if you just give me a chance, I can show you how right it can be.”

“Joey, I’m sorry. That’s never going to happen. Please put down the gun, you’re scaring me.”

“Scaring you? What about me?” he cried out like he’d been hurt. “I gave you everything, West! All of me, all my time, all my focus, all my energy. What did you give me in return?”

“A hefty salary,” West replied.

Which only pissed Joey off. He pressed the gun into West’s chest and I held my breath. If I shot him now, he could shoot West in return. Or worse, I might hit West by mistake.

I caught Theo’s eye and flashed him my gun. If he could somehow get Joey away from West, I’d have a clear shot.

He gave me a slight nod and took a step towards West and Joey. Joey turned to him, pointing the gun his way.

“Don’t fucking move, Theo!”

“Look man, it doesn’t have to go down like this,” Theo said, holding up his hands and taking another step forward. “Just put the gun down.”

“Don’t fucking tell me what to —.”

West pushed Joey to the ground and pounced on him as he fell. The gun was still in Joey’s hand and they wrestled each other, rolling around and around. I had my gun out, ready to shoot, but I still wasn’t able to get a clear shot.

Joey squirmed around, getting on top of West and pointing the gun right in his face, causing Theo and Rian to freeze and stop trying to pull him off.

“Don’t make me fucking shoot him!” Joey cried out, his face red with angry tears.

He sat up, straddling West, providing me the clearest shot I’d had yet.

I squeezed the trigger, the sound of the bullet exploding from the chamber echoing through the temple with a deafening roar.

ChapterForty-Four

WEST

Joey’s body collapsed on top of me. I pushed him off quickly and jumped to my feet.

“Holy fuck!” Theo shouted.

I stood over Joey, looking down in shock. My eyes darted over to Kaylee, standing in the cage, her face smeared in white paint. Tears streaked down her face. A smoking gun hung from her hand at her side.

“Kaylee!” I shouted, running over to her and unlocking the cage. I pulled her into my arms and she melted into me. “Are you okay, baby?”

“Yes,” she whispered. I kissed her hard and pulled her close, unable to let her go. I looked over her shoulder, watching as Rian checked Joey’s body for a pulse. He looked over at me and shook his head.

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