No answer came from behind me and that was answer enough. Anger coursed through my blood like molten lava. Breathing through it took effort. My eyes flicked from Grace to the gun pressed to her temple. I couldn’t look at Morgan because if I did, I knew my finger would press down on the trigger and I’d shoot her and that couldn’t happen, because if I fired at Morgan, she might hit the trigger and shoot Grace.
“Call off your bitch before I start shooting,” I ordered Kelly, the gun in my hand steady and cocked.
“She’s not my bitch,” Kelly said from behind me as if the thought made him want to puke.
Movement from the hallway caught my eye and the big biker came into view. I blinked, because he was even bigger up close and that was a lot to take in. He scanned the scene before him with apparent exasperation. “What the fuck is goin’ on here?” he boomed. “You!” He pointed at me and my adrenaline spiked. “Get that fuckin’ gun off my sister. You!” he pointed at Morgan. “I told you to leave that girl the hell alone.”
“Fuck you, Bingo!” Morgan cried out, the words aimed at the biker. “And fuck you,” she added, glaring over my shoulder. At Kelly, I realised with surprise. “I wanted you like I never wanted anything in my life. But after everything I did for you, you never gave me the time of day.” I felt my brother jolt behind me, the butt of his gun shifting slightly against my head. “So I fucked your brother instead.”
“Jesus,” Kelly breathed from behind me.
Grace closed her eyes, her chest expanding with a deep breath before she opened them again. I wanted to apologise for making such a huge mistake. I hadn’t even met Grace before it happened, yet it continued to taint us anyway.
“But your brother never wanted me either!” Morgan shouted, her eyes red and her body trembling. It made the gun in her hand shake and I held my breath knowing how easily the trigger would fire. “He threatened to destroy everything I ever worked for. Just like that! Everything. That’s why this bitch here deserves to die. If he takes everything from me, then I’m going to return the favour. All the better he’s here to see it,” she sneered.
“Put down the weapon, Morgan!” I ground out. Both my arms were outstretched holding the gun, my eyes squinting as I kept her in my sights. I didn’t care how big her biker brother was. As long as Morgan stood there with that gun pointed at Grace, I wasn’t putting mine down.
Movement came from the hallway again. I was careful not to shift my eyes and reveal Travis silently making his way towards us.
Ignoring everyone, Morgan ripped the tape from Grace’s mouth. Tilting her head at my girl, she asked, “Any last words?” before cocking the gun. The sound was soft, but it rang through my ears like a crack of thunder.
A single tear rolled down Grace’s cheek and my heart stopped.
I love you, she mouthed silently, her eyes holding mine.
I locked my jaw, fighting back a sob as time stood still.
“Who do you think you are? Batman?”
She’d been so fierce and bright the day I first met her. From that moment on I knew I’d be whoever she wanted me to be.
“You even think about carrying me, or touching me, or even breathing in the same airspace as me, I’ll punch you so hard you’ll be spitting teeth for a week.”
So damn feisty and beautiful.
My finger tightened on the trigger and I dragged air into my lungs.
“This is my fight! It’s mine, and I’m not going to allow what happened to my father and to my family happen to you.”
Grace was wrong. It wasn’t her fight anymore. It was our fight. I wasn’t letting anyone, or anything, take her from me.
A red haze of anger drew down over my eyes.
“You made me love you so hard.”
I cocked my head, checked my aim, and I pulled the trigger.
Then everything happened at once.
Kelly knocked my arm from behind and the shot went wild, hitting the ceiling. At the same time, Travis launched himself at Bingo and they both went down. In the middle of all that, Gabriella stormed the front door behind me, rushing past. Her rapid-fire Spanish flooded the room as she went straight for Morgan. Mitch came from the opposite direction, having come through the same back door as Travis. They both closed in from either side.
Morgan’s eyes flared wide. She swung the gun from Grace to me and fired three rounds into my chest.
I heard Grace cry out as the force shoved me backwards. I smacked hard into my brother, my legs buckling beneath me.
“No!” Kelly bellowed, catching me. He stumbled, going to his knees as he took my weight. We both went down. I landed hard on the floor, Kelly hitting somewhere behind me.