Page 261 of Unravelling The Beast

He cocks his head to the side, studying me as he continues to sway.

“I'm willing to die tonight to be with my daughter. Are you willing to die when you have so much to live for?”

I stare at him, and when I blink, tears cascade down my cheeks.

“One..”

“I mean, you are pregnant. Why the fuck would you die for this piece of shit?”

Arlo's words about never hesitating start to resound in my mind, and I squeeze the trigger without warning. I watch a bullet sink into his upper arm, causing him to drop the bat instantly with a groan, and he slaps his palm straight over the wound.

He puffs hard through gritted teeth before staring at me and narrowing his eyes. Without warning, he takes a gun out of the back of his pants and aims it at me.

“Not her.”

My eyes move to Arlo when he speaks breathlessly, and he lifts his head to glare up at the cop.

‘Not fucking her.”

The cop stares at me, completely ignoring Arlo, and he laughs.

“Wow, you're his fucking weakness. Maybe they were right and we should have killed you, but the plan is the plan now.”

He digs into his pants pocket and suddenly flips out a gas lighter.

“Me and Arlo die tonight. It's up to you if you're coming with us.”

My teary eyes move to the burning flame before they shift to Arlo.

“As soon as you shoot and kill me, Wren, this gas lighter will hit the ground.”

Arlo stares deeply into my eyes as if urging me not to hesitate, no matter the consequence, but I'm so afraid of losing him that I don't know what to do.

“You know what that means, don't you?”

I feel fury inside as my focus shifts to him, and I scream at him.

“Fuck you! I'm fucking pregnant! You can't do this! You're a cop!”

“He is a waste of space and poison! His time has come, and he needs to be sent back to hell!”

“He is the father of my unborn child, and what about his son? Hasn't he had enough heartbreak?”

He stares deep into my eyes, anger and resentment building inside of them.

“You'll be fucking next if he lives! I'm doing you a fucking favor!”

He immediately points the gun at Arlo's head, and I scream as I unleash a round of bullets into his body without hesitating.

Everything moves in slow motion, and I watch in horror as his bullet narrowly misses Arlo's head as he dodges. My focus shifts to the gas lighter soaring through the air, where the impact of the gunshots forces the cop to fly backwards and fall to the ground.

My wide eyes follow the lighter, and as I hear it strike the floor in the far corner of the room, I begin to think it will not ignite anything until suddenly, waves of flames crawl up the walls, rapidly climbing to the towering ceiling. In my chaos and panic, I sprint forward towards Arlo while dropping the pistol.

As soon as I get to him, I crouch down in front of him and shout in a state of fright.

“Where's your knife?”

He's dazed, perhaps from a concussion, and I lightly slap his face with my fingertips.

---