Page 54 of Beautifully Shattered
And then, I turn back to the woman who took it all from me, and lift the gun, aiming it at Wendy’s head.
“See you in Hell, bitch,” I sneer, before I pull the trigger.
11
The loud crack of the gun rings out like thunder, echoing far longer than it should as I stare at my wife. She’s completely unhinged. Tainted far more than I fucking thought.
My chest rises and falls in sharp, panicked bursts. I wanted to stop her, but the look in her eyes down in that dungeon fucking terrified me.
That wasn’t my wife. That was someone else entirely.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a strong woman. But this? This is something else. Something I know she’ll never recover from once the veil of her fury lifts.
“JD,” I rasp, keeping my voice low so I don’t startle my Angel, standing in the centre of the yard, still holding my gun.
“Yeah?” he asks, standing by my side, shoulder to shoulder.
“What’s Smitty doing?” I ask him to look because I can’t.
I won’t take my eyes off my wife. I can’t let her suffer through this alone, and this brutal, fucked-up moment is the only way she’s letting me be a part of it.
Watching on helplessly. Letting her do the one thing I know will leave a permanent scar on her soul.
“He’s, uhhh… grinning.”
I blow out a relieved breath, because fuck, I didn’t know how this would go down. We’ve got a code. No killing on the day we honour a fallen brother. And yet, here she is. My wife. Not just killing the woman who set this whole nightmare in motion, but doing it right out in the open for everyone to see… on the day we remembered eight of our own.
She just murdered a woman in front of over sixty witnesses.
Fuck.
“I need you to do damage control for me,” I mutter. “Please.” I add, because fuck, if he were a smart man, he’d distance himself from me right the fuck now.
Smitty might be grinning, but that doesn’t mean it’s good.
“Of course.” JD claps a solid hand on my shoulder before leaving my side to try and get a handle on how this shitshow is landing with Smitty. With the crowd.
Abbey’s arm is still outstretched, the barrel of the gun still locked on Wendy’s head, but I spot the weakness to her hold. She’s starting to fade, and fast.
Moving up behind her, I clear my throat to let her know I’m there.
“Angel. I’m here. I’m going to touch your shoulders now,” I say quietly, but she still tenses the second my hands gently land on her.
She starts trembling, and her shoulders sag, yet she doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Doesn’t tear her eyes off Wendy’s bloodied corpse.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur into her ear, pressing my front to her back, and sliding my hand down the length of her outstretched arm. “I’m going to take the gun now.”
This time, she nods, the tremors wracking through her increasing.
The moment my hand wraps around the gun, she releases it, spinning, and burying her face in my chest, her hands fisting my cut in desperation like she’s drowning, and I’m the only thing keeping her above water.
She’s back. My Angel is back, but I’ve got no idea how she’s going to react when it hits her. When she realises she just killed Wendy.
Somewhere behind me, someone starts clapping, and then more join in as it spreads through the crowd. Shoving my gun into the back of my pants, I keep my hold on her with my free hand, never wanting to let her go.
She stiffens in my arms as the applause builds, like she’s only just hearing it now, and then, Smitty’s deranged laugh cuts through the noise.
“Now that’s justice,” he cackles, striding up to us as Abbey pulls back just enough to glare at him.
