Page 149 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
Crazy fuck. What the hell does he know? The only thing hot about death is the blood gushing out. I feel it squirt against my palms, between my fingers.
He shoves Ivy away. She stumbles to his left and falls hard to her knees.
Clear shot.The moment stretches. My mouth dries. I can do this. I’m older now. Not blinded. I can control it.
All in one motion, I whip out the second gun from the back of my belt, aim and fire.
The red doesn’t bloom on Caleb’s shoulder like I intended. Instead, a chunk of flesh tears from his neck; blood spews out in a huge arch. He drops his gun and puts both hands over the hole, his face frozen in shock. The same expression I saw on Katherine.
No.
He lurches forward. The scent of gunpowder burns my nose. The wind shakes the leaves.
No more giggles.
I rush forward.
Gotta stop it! Gotta stop the bleeding!
I put a hand over his wound. Blood spurts against my skin, moving like a living thing. It’s so hot that it seems to sear my palm. His breath puffs out. A sickly smell of mint wafts over me, the same scent as Katherine’s. His eyes are dilated and glassy, life leaching out, as death—the same death I saw before—empties them…
Suddenly, I’m twelve again. Pressing my hands on the bleeding wound.
Katherine’s looking up at me, her eyes wide and shocked.
“Tony… It hurts,” she manages to say. Her breath smells of chocolate mint.
I press down as hard as I can, but more blood gushes out with every pulse. How can her small heart beat so hard, so fast?
She rests her hand over mine, flexing gently. She’s panting softly, looking up at me. There’s a terrible knowledge—the fear that this is the last moment for her, the pain of dying, all her years and potential dripping away. The bright vitality in her eyes dims, little by little.
No, no, no! Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die…
But nothing matters. At the end,the heart stops. The eyes are lifeless.
And I’m on the forest floor on my knees with blood on my hands.
