Page 53 of Lust

“Come on baby, you don’t really want to shoot me, do you?”

“How many times have you tried to kill me, Brent?” I take a step toward him.

“What are you talking about?”

“How many times, Brent?” Another step.

“Does it really matter?”

He’s right: it doesn’t.

“Why?” Another step. I’m three feet away from him. Too far for him to reach me easily. Close enough for a very clean shot.

“Look at you.” Ugliness seeps through his features, flattening the color in his eyes and twisting his lips. “I married a pop star. Now, I live with a department store clerk. Who wouldn’t want a better life?”

“You convinced me that you loved me. That’s why I married you.”

“Sure, I wanted you. That much was true. But do you really think I would have married you if you didn’t have money?” His hollow laugh echoes through the large, empty room. “Even your nerdy little friend Aaron looks a hell of a lot better with a massive bank account, doesn’t he?”

Red obscures my vision, and my hand trembles. I force myself to maintain a steady aim. A quarter-sized spot on Brent’s forehead becomes my sole focus in the entire universe.

“You two deserve each other,” he snarls. “Too bad you’ll never get the chance to be together.” His body blurs as he charges, suddenly seeming as swift as he was in his high school running back days.

My finger is quicker, though, like lightning on the trigger.

The hole that opens just above his right temple is small, but the spray that spews out behind his head splashes in a long swath on the concrete floor behind him. The remainder of Brent’s face contorts into a mask of agonized surprise.

Then, his eyes go blank. His suddenly limp body tumbles slowly to the floor.

“Well, this is a convenient turn of events.” A strong hand grabs my arm, and I feel Aaron’s warmth just as my own body starts to sway, the room spinning around me.

Aaron

“Aaron.” Ruby crumbles in my arms, sagging against my chest. “You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here.” I squeeze her tightly, then gently set her on the ground. “Although it looks like I arrived a few minutes too late.” She drops the gun as she falls, and I pick it up with a gloved hand.

“No,” she whispers. “You came back to me at just the right time.”

Wiping the gun carefully with my handkerchief, I study Brent’s body.

“How convenient that he’s right handed.”And that the shot was to his right temple. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.Scanning the room, I asses the other bodies. “I suppose he shot the other two?”

Ruby nods.

Shaking my head, I close my eyes, briefly reliving the terrifying moments between when I first heard gunshots from outside the building and when I arrived in this room to find Ruby alive. A deep, shuddering breath refocuses me on the task at hand. I open my eyes and return to Brent’s body.

“There.” Brent’s fingers easily open and accept the gun. “That’s a bit easier for the cops to understand. You don’t want to make things hard on those guys. Their jobs are tough enough as it is.” I crouch next to Ruby and wrap my arm around her, then point to Gary. “We have a love triangle. Your jealous husband shot the man who tried to be your lover. And then we have this guy.” I walk over to Gio, folded against the wall. His body flops as I kick it with the toe of my shoe.

“He’s supposedly with the Fioravantes, a hitman,” Ruby supplies.

“Perfect. Jealous husband tried to take out a hit, but something went wrong. Everybody winds up dead.” The toe of my shoe is red with Gio’s blood from where it prodded his chest.

“But why was Gary here?” Ruby sounds much calmer than I expected.

“Well,” I smile, “I guess it actually was a love triangle. He came to see Delilah.”

“Delilah?! Brent’s girlfriend?” Ruby looks stricken, and I realize we haven’t discussed my newest teammate. “What does any of this have to do with her?”

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