Page 55 of Fatally Yours
“You must know he’s done some shady shit in his life, don’t you?” August asked. Desi nodded slightly.
“How much do you know?”
“Drugs and prostitutes, mostly.”
“Do you know he killed someone?” For the first time since pointing the gun at her, she showed emotion. Her blank expression slipped into one of horror as she turned to Randy, now avoiding eye contact with him. A bead of sweat broke from her head and rolled down her face, falling onto her lap.
“Is that true?” Her voice was breathy.
“No, darlin’. He’s a lunatic.” Randy’s attempt to assure her was poor at best and pitiful at worst. August’s face darkened with rage. Without a word, he yanked on the collar of his shirt, exposing the impressions of the tire treads embedded permanently into his undead flesh and the bullet wound that was now just a puckered scar on his shoulder.
“He ran me over with his van,” he snarled. “And I fuckingdied.” Desi’s face drained of color, making her appear as lifeless as we were. Her knuckles screamed with white as she gripped the hem of her shirt, trying to hide the tremble in her hands.
“See this?” He pointed to the bullet hole. “He shot me.” August released his shirt and returned to pointing the gun at the duo, making Desi jump.
“This fucker took me away from everyone I loved,” he said. “He made my friends suffer, my fiancée suffer. For no fucking reason other than a disregard for human life.” His jaw was pressed together, accentuating his anger. We waited our entire lives for this moment, and now it was happening. Revenge, a dish best served cold. I knew he was fired up, and I feared he could disregard his previous words and kill Desi, too. The feeling settled in my stomach and I wove my hands together, hoping not to worry myself into the grave.
He can handle this.
He’s not a monster.
Just vengeful.
“But none of that matters now,” he said. “I’m back, and you have a critical choice to make, Desi.” She nodded quickly. Only then did I notice tears resting in the corners of her eyes. It would be a cruel irony if we were to snuff her life out, too. That would make us no better than Randy Clark. “You can die with him, or you can keep your fucking mouth shut. Live your life like this never happened. I don’t like the idea of killing people who don’t deserve it, but I can learn to exist with it if you fuck up.”
“I can keep quiet.” She didn’t even hesitate. August’s mismatched leer flicked to me for a moment, and I felt the false breath I was holding the entire time release. Then he turned back to her.
“Can you?” he questioned. She nodded. “Give me your ID.” Desi fumbled around in her pocket as her trembling hands made it hard to function. I hoped August wouldn’t run out of patience and do something rash.
His eyes were burning into her as she slipped her hand into her jeans and pulled out a bundle of bills. Wrapped in the middle was her ID, and she handed it to August while a few dollars fell to the ground. Still bent on survival and cooperation, she refused to pick them up.
He slipped the card into his pocket, seemingly satisfied with her cooperation. Relief crawled through my body as I assumed we would let her go and get down to business. Then, hopefully, the rest of the night would go smoothly and we could get this over with and move on.
My hopes were raised and dashed as August took a step forward. My brow furrowed as I felt my throat tighten, sucking the words I wanted to speak out of existence. Was he lying about letting her go? Things only got worse when he forced the weapon into her quivering grasp. Suddenly, I could talk again, only because I was so dumbfounded.
“What the hell are you doing?!” I cried. His gaze refused to meet mine, only solidifying that he knew he would make me panic.
“Shoot him, Desi. Right in the leg, so he can’t run away,” he said coldly. My eyes widened. We made a mistake before when freeing Kelsey. This was how he would get her to keep quiet by implicating her in the crime, knowing her location, and making her participate.
“I-I can’t shoot someone—”
“You’re not going to kill him, but if you’re so desperate, maybe you can join him,” he snarled, raising his hand and using his powers to wrench the gun from her delicate hands. The weapon clattered to the ground as August raised another hand, closing it into a fist. Desi’s hands went to her throat as her lips parted in a desperate attempt to take in air, choked by his power.
“No…” she croaked.
“Fucking stop!” Randy spoke through gritted teeth, but August ignored him. He was too focused and hellbent on inflicting his rage upon this innocent woman. I thought I felt my heart pounding in my chest as I stepped forward, not wanting to witness the slaughter. We were not like that. This was revenge, not a massacre. I grabbed him by the arm, trying to get him to stop this madness. This wasn’t us. This wasn’thim.Not even in death was this him.
“August, stop it!” I cried. His sinister gaze burned into me as he pushed my hands away from him, and I stumbled back. I couldn’t stop myself from shaking as I watched her twitch on the couch, sucking in air that would never enter her lungs and give her the gift of life.
“Tell Desi to listen, baby.” Although his phrase was accented with an affectionate nickname, his voice was laced with rage, squeezing through his pressed-together teeth.
“Okay, okay,” I said. Finally, he lowered his hand, and I let out a sigh of relief. Desi coughed and sputtered, letting out small sobs as she sucked in precious oxygen. Not wanting to allow him to think we were defying him, I snatched the gun from the ground and placed myself beside her.
It was strange to have such a powerful weapon in my hands. I recalled being taught how to shoot a gun by my dad, but I never felt comfortable with it. Having a weapon in my hands felt like I was holding something slimy and disgusting, like a mass of spiders or toxic waste. It was unnatural and unsuited for someone like me.
“You need to shoot him,” I said quietly, placing it in her grasp and praying that she would just listen and get this over with. She regained her composure and took it in her trembling hands with a gulp. “He tookeverythingfromme,” I added, hoping to make it easier for her. It wasn’t like she was killing him, but I understood her reservations. “He hurts kids, too.”
“Oh Christ, don’t tell me that,” she said, her concerned eyes connecting with mine as she got to her feet and aimed the gun at him. Her hands shook as she took in a breath, trying to steady her aim.
