Page 209 of Ride the Sky

Can’t scream. Can’t breathe. My body feels numb. My lungs burn. Pinpricks fill my vision. Quiet all around me.

Death’s in the air.

You swing.

Nine strikes, and you’re out.

The veins in Tripp’s throat bulge as he squeezes tighter. “All you had to do was love me.”

Tears leak from my eyes. Faces flash in my mind.

Dakota. My father. Lovely and Lawless.

Wyatt.

Wyatt and the home we’ve made for ourselves these last four months.

Mine. I’m not letting it go.

Darkness.

A voice whispering in my ear.Swing.

Then a thunderous roar fills the air.

Tripp’s suddenly slammed across the room. The absence of his weight on my chest has me gasping for relief. I moan as consciousness fully comes back to me.

A cacophony of noise breaks through the sound of blood rushing back into my head. Trying harder to breathe, to think, I roll onto my side. My eyes widen.

Wyatt.

Hands around Tripp’s throat, he slams him back against the wall. “You piece of fucking shit,” Wyatt seethes, lifting a fist. “This is for touching my fucking wife.”

The sound of bone on bone.

I wobble to my feet, steadying myself on the wall.

Before Wyatt can swing again, Tripp moves back and pulls the gun from his waistband. I catch Wyatt’s eyes in the dimness of the room. There’s no fear in his eyes, only rage.

A sob cracks my scream in half. “NO!”

But he doesn’t fire. Instead, Tripp turns, whipping his head my way.

I lunge for my cane. Miraculously, my hands close around the handle.

Screaming. It’s all screaming in my head. A wild howl of rage that sucks me in and keeps me there.

You swing.

Swing, Fallon.

And I do.

This time, the cane connects.

I slice the end of the cane against his stomach and growl, “Fuck you, motherfucker.”

There’s a terrible tearing and squelching sound. Tripp’s body stiffens. A strange gurgling comes from his mouth. The gun hits the ground with a clatter.

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