Page 31 of Driftwood Daffodil 3

I stared at him.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Was he really askingmethat? “I’m sorry, but which one of us is holding the gun over their heart?”

Pretty sure I was the sane one in this scenario.

Gio lifted his chin and narrowed his gaze. “You don’t have the balls to pull the trigger.”

Tightening my grip on the handle, I glared back up at him, “oh, I’ve got all the balls.”

Yeah, I probably could have worded that better.

“You’ve got all the balls, do you?”

“That’s right. Big brass ones.” They were sitting on the top shelf of my closet next to the red shoes I stole from Gio.

“Then shoot me.” He hissed while stepping in, forcing my back to smack off the wall behind me.

“Maybe I will.” Though, my arms were getting tired. This thing was heavy.

“Do it.” Gio growled, making my finger twitch against the trigger.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. The world would be a better place without Gio Mancini in it. Poor Marty. But if I did shoot him, then I’d have to deal with the mess. Blood was hard to get out, and it would get everywhere. Maw Maw would bitch about for weeks. Not to mention the little pieces of bone and flesh. And how the hell was I going to move his body?

If I stood on my tiptoes, I’d still have to lift my chin to see over his shoulder. Meaning I would have to cut him up, which I’d have to borrow Mr. Garibaldi’s saw for, and that would cause another mess to clean up. All that sounded like a lot of work.

“Maybe you’d prefer to use a tire iron instead, like your brother.”

Then again, it might be worth the mess.

Curling my lips, I gave Gio a sweet smile. “Only if you cry like a little girl, like your brother did?”

That was when our stand-off ended. Gio’s hand shot out while his arm knocked the rifle to the side a second before my finger clamped down on the trigger.

Gio swore, and the rifle slipped from hands as the crack of the bullet rolled through the air in a wave that echoed around my skull.

Everything suddenly became surreal.

The kitchen I’d been in a hundred times, the gun now on the floor, and the picture of Kato on the wall that rattled with the noise. It was all there but hidden under a curtain of fog that only the ringing in my ears could penetrate.

That lasted about ten seconds before reality slapped me in the face and the world came back in full HD version. My mind, however, did not return as quickly. It must’ve gotten rattled around because I hadn’t been this confused since Vince Yates showed me his package in second grade.

This time, instead of wondering how Vince’s vagina got turned inside out, I wondered if I was always pushed back against the wall? Was that scowl on Gio’s face a minute ago, and when did he grab my neck? Not that any of that was out of the ordinary.

It was all fairly normal actions. Just another day in my life. Gio was kind of going light on the choking though, and was a little suspicious. I should be gagging for oxygen by now. Maybe his brain got knocked around too?

“F… cun… har…”

Hang on.

I focused in on Gio’s moving lips. It looked like he was trying to say something, but I couldn’t be sure. The ringing in my ears consumed all my hearing ability. Firing a gun inside was loud.

His grip on my neck tightened as he leaned in closer to my face. “He… sh… No…”

That was my name. Maybe? I couldn’t be sure.

“WHAT?”

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