Page 199 of Come Back To Me

“Come on, come on.” Cain grows impatient, uncurling Vincent’s fingers and placing the gun in his hold. “Shoot one!” he shouts.

Like pinballs, Vincent’s eyes ping left to right. Worried. Maybe he won’t shoot one of us?

Cain sighs. “It’s easy, watch.” He snatches the gun back, lassoing it above his head. “Line ‘em up.”

There’s a flurry of activity behind me. I fight against the man holding me. “No!” I push against him, no longer caring for the gun still pushed against my head. This prick’s here to draw this out—put on a show. I won’t be killed. Not yet.

My men are pulled to my line of vision, each one thrown to their knees. My heart constricts as though an icy hand has torn through my chest. It tightens its grip, indescribable fear radiating from within.

Beats. Mop. Riggs. Skitz. The Joker. All of them are here.

Cain strides forwards. He taps the gun in his hand to each one of their heads, starting with Beats. “I need you boys to know why this is happening.” He moves slowly, sizing them up. With every step that he takes, my fear that he’s going to kill themin cold blood, magnifies. “You see, I wanted to be one of you so badly. Well, not you, more like them.” He swings his arm, pointing at Vincent. “I would have done near on anything to get in. Hell, Ididdo everything that was expected of me. And what did I get in return? Do you know?”

He pushes Mop’s head back with the barrel, twisting his head with a demented glare. Mop doesn’t give him a reaction. Not so much as a look. Cain huffs. “Or maybe you do?” He taps Skitz’s head twice. Skitz similarly doesn’t show any emotion to the loon stood over him.

“How about you?” He reaches the end of the line, then turns to look at me, flashing me an evil grin. I catch The Joker’s eyes before the trigger is pulled.

BANG.

There’s no fear there before his lifeless body then hits the deck. My men next to him drop their heads. The air is suddenly deathly silent as I stagger, my eyes wide as everything around me blurs.

I’m consumed. Overcome by hate and the desire to kill. I should have known I never stood a chance of leaving.

Taking confident strides, Cain walks to me. His face is daringly close to mine as my lips part; harsh, heavy breaths escaping my lungs. “I did what I was asked and they wouldn’t patch me in… apparently I was too hot headed—made too many rash decisions. But I’ve shown them, haven’t I?” I don’t answer. “Haven’t I!” he roars, spitting on my face.

Vincent moves forward, his hands up in surrender. “You have!”

The psycho in front of me looks to him, then back to me. He snarls as he smiles, a vicious twist in his lips as he sucks in a deep breath. “You thinkIneedyourapproval? Ha!” He throws his head back releasing a manic laugh. “You’re not worthy ofthatcut! Onlypussies struggle to kill their enemies.”

Walking around me, he leans in closer, whispering for only me to hear, his hand resting on my shoulder. “Want to know a secret?”

I move my head away from his.

“Weak men don’t belong in our world. I did this for the Saviours. To show my loyalty to the club who rejected me. But I've changed my mind, they don’t deserve it. You see, it’s within chaos I find my peace.” He points his gun at Vincent.

Vincent looks between me and Cain. None of this was part of our plan. He doesn’t get time to speak, but he dips his chin as his eyes lock with mine. It’s enough for me to know; to understand.

The gun fires, and I see a moment. A window of an opportunity as Vincent falls. Pushing back against the man holding me, I kick out, disarming Cain. He doesn’t see my second kick that flies through the air, landing on his nose. The crunch vibrates up my leg, but I shake myself free, moving to grab his gun on the floor.

Another loud crack then sounds.

I crumple, my leg giving way. Adrenaline hides the pain in the back of my leg as it gets wetter, warm blood soaking through my jeans.Fuck.Trying to stand, I'm grabbed as I push myself up, refusing to back down. Every one of my men has a gun aimed at them. Those lined up in front of me and Travis behind me.

Swinging my head, a light flickers in the moonlight near the trees. It’s gone as soon as I try to focus my gaze.

Billy steps forward, but he’s unarmed like us. Nothing he can do even if he wanted to. At this point, it’s me and Cain in the middle of a warped circle.

Another flash catches my eye, sending my heart racing. Is someone there? Jack? I sigh knowing it can’t be. Costa said they’d found them. Jack wouldn’t have let me down, and Costa wouldn’t have let him live. He’d be here if he could.

Cain looks at his man behind me, deciding my wound is bad enough to not have to hold me.

Straightening, I put my weight on one leg, the other bleeding out, blood now flowing freely to my boot. As the adrenaline starts to subside, fresh pain stings. It rides its way through my bones trying to cripple me.

Wiping the blood from under his nose, the crazed man steps closer once again. “Do you want to know how I did it? The kill that set our hatred for each other in motion.”

His breath hits my face he’s that close. I try to phase him out, but I can’t ignore how he licks his fingers clean of his own blood before he speaks again. “When she struggled, I held her down.” The cunt smiles, remembering. “My grip was so tight around her throat, she purpled quicker than I had hoped for. Death was close, but I learned a lesson that day.”

He spins on his heels waving a finger in the air as I see a movement in the shadows. “When killing someone,” he begins, and I focus back on him, “you gain deeper satisfaction stealing their life if they’re tiptoeing on the edge of consciousness. I could see the way her eyes bulged for days.”

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