Page 76 of Beautifully Shattered
“Angel!”
Ringo’s bellow cuts off with a thud, and my eyes snap to him, now on the ground, only metres away with a man on top of him, trying to force a knife into his chest.
The noise that rips from my throat resembles a feral war cry, and I charge without hesitation, my sights locked onto the man trying to kill my husband.
I leap, my feet leaving the ground, and I swing like I’m holding a bat, the helmet crashing into the side of his skull with a brutal blow.
He tumbles sideways, and I’m on him before he can suck in a breath, ignoring Ringo as he calls for me to stop.
I don’t.
Iwon’t.
I can’t stop until every last person that means me or who I love harm, is dead.
I beat him, screaming with each hit, his face cracking open, but still I don’t stop.
The thunderous crack of a gun echoes through the air close by, pulling me up short.
Panting, I spin to see a Rebel hitting the ground, a gun slipping from his hand to the leafy forest floor beside him.
It’s then that I see the silhouette of a man behind him, a gun tight in his grip as a slither of smoke curls up from the barrel.
At first, I expect to recognise a Marx crewman, but that’s not who I’m looking at, and I frown in confusion.
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This man… He’s wearing a Rebel’s cut. Did he just shoot his own guy?
“Stay back!” Jols pants, stepping up beside me, with Ringo and JD quickly flanking us as the man quickly holds his hands up in surrender.
“Don’t shoot. I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Dude, did you just shoot your own man?” JD asks what I’d been thinking, and the man shrugs, taking a step back.
“I’m not who they think I am.”
“And who the fuckareyou?” Ringo snarls, stepping forward, zero fear in his stance.
“I’m friend, not foe.”
“Yet you wear a Rebel’s patch,” Ringo hisses, pointing to the logo stitched onto the cut he’s wearing.
Theman doesn’t even flinch. “Like I said. I’mnotwho they think I am.”
My eyes narrow, his words turning over in my head.
“Are you undercover or something?” I ask, and he breathes out hard, frustration flickering behind his calm.
“Look, I can’t tell youwhoI am, but I won’t stop you. Just go.”
JD and Ringo exchange a weary glance before the man speaks again.
“Before you go, someone’s gotta knock me out.” His lips kick up in a smirk. “Gotta make it look real.”
Ringo smirks, quickly closing the distance before pulling back and slamming his fist into the man’s face.
The guy drops hard, out cold before he even hits the ground, and Ringo crouches and fishes through his pockets, pulling out his wallet and flipping it open.
