“You good, man?”

“Just grazed me,” Stone answers. “I’ll be fine.

Pretty Boy looks at me next and asks the same question.

“And areyouokay?”

I look at him as I consider his question.

“I…” I begin. “I don’t know.”

“Well, this may help you feel better.” He picks up my hand and places the butt of his gun in it.

When I hit him with a questioning glance, he helps me wrap my hand around the gun.

“Hold it tight, but don’t touch the trigger yet.”

He slowly walks me over so I am standing in front of Jasper, the light streaming down on him as if God himself has sent me a beacon. I stare from Jasper to SoCo. SoCo nods to me, encouragingly. Then I look at Pretty Boy and then to Stone.

“You’ve got this. You can do it. You deserve to be the one who ends his life,” Stone tells me. “And Blade will be happy knowing this is how it all ended with this peckerhead.”

“Blade…”

What? Is he alive? Does Stone know something I don’t?”

“He’s going to be fine. Hawk and Cap helped him out. They’re on the way to the clubhouse so Hawk can evaluate him.”

I blink at Stone, not believing him at first.

“Please don’t lie to me,” I cry. “I can’t handle that heartbreak.”

“I’m not lying to you, Sasha. Hawk said he’ll be just fine.”

I don’t know how that’s true when I saw Blade, motionless and facedown on the ground. But I nod to Stone and then turn my attention back to Jasper. He’s got a smug grin on his face, and it infuriates me.

“Oh, princess, Jasper begins. “You can’t deny that we had fun. I’m glad I got to see you one more time. To die with the taste of you on my tongue is like walking into the gates of Heaven.”

“You’d never be allowed in,” I spit, my lip curled up in disgust.

“Oh, but my Heaven is different from yours, princess. Dark. Depraved. Full of memories of our time togeth—”

“Enough!” I shout, raising the gun to his head.

I put gentle pressure on the trigger, my hand shaking. I don’t know if I can do this. I’ve never shot a gun before in my life. He deserves to die, but who am I to play God? I want to. I want to so fucking bad, I just don’t know if I’m capable of taking someone else’s life.

“You’ve got this, girl,” SoCo encourages me, but it isn’t enough.

“I can’t,” I cry, covering my eyes with my fists.

I feel someone take the gun from my hand, and I wait for the sound of a gunshot to go off, but it doesn’t. Removing my hands from my face, I look to see what’s happening.

“Get the fuck up, asshole,” SoCo orders Jasper.

He secures his hold on him as Pretty Boy ties his hands together with the same rope they used on me. Pulling a knife from his belt, he cuts the excess off and wraps it around Jasper’s head. Forcing the rope into his mouth, he tugs at it harshly and secures it in a double knot behind his head. A final length of rope is wrapped several times around his ankles before being secured so it can’t come off.

“What’s happening?” I ask.

Why aren’t they killing him? Just because I can’t do it doesn’t mean I don’t want him dead.