Page 108 of BounBound By Scars

I kept moving. Calculated. Fast.

The further I got, the more the music from the East Wing faded. Replaced by something else.

A scuffle. Sharp. Dull thuds. A muffled grunt.

Then her voice.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

My lungs stilled.

Then I was sprinting full speed.

The sound of my boots echoed too loud in the otherwise silent corridor. I didn’t care.

My weapon was already in hand. My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to get out and get to her first.

Another second.

Then—a shot.

Just one. Muffled. Close.

I turned the corner—and my world cracked open.

My Lia.

Her dress was torn—shredded from the slit, the side seams hanging. Her bra strap loose. Her chest blooming red with blood, just beneath the ribs.

She staggered.

And dropped.

Her body hit the marble floor with a sound I’d never forget. A sound that would echo in my head for the rest of my goddamn life.

Everything inside me went quiet.

There was something in me that snapped so hard I didn’t feel it—but I just knew I wasn’t the same.

Time slowed as I watched the love of my life lying still—too still. Blood pooling beneath her.

My vision tunneled.

Suddenly, I couldn’t see the walls. The lights. The floor.

Just the five motherfuckers still standing.

Circling her.

Five.

Why were they still breathing?

Well, that’s too bad.

Because my gun was already up.

Nothing could’ve stopped my finger from pulling the trigger.

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