Chapter 50
THE TRUE MONSTER
Lexi
No. This wasn’t happening.
Stan stalked closer, the sneer curling his lip only intensifying his gruesome appearance. That shiny, fake exterior was finally gone, revealing the true monster beneath. A shudder surged up my spine, but I threw my shoulders back refusing to ever cower in the presence of this man again.
The weak, scared Lexi from all those years ago was gone. She’d died that day, along with her innocence. I held all the power now. With that video, I finally had the ability to destroy Stanford Davenport.
And I wouldn’t let anything stop me.
“Don’t ever fucking talk about her like that, Stan,” Killian growled. “I never want to hear the name of the woman I love, or anything about her, coming from that filthy mouth of yours.”
His smile grew wider. “Aww, love. That’s sweet.
Love won’t get you anywhere in life, though,” he spat.
Then he waved the pistol in the air, taunting.
“What are you going to do, son? I’m the one with the gun now, and without Arcane to cover your betrayal of the Grand Domnus, your brothers will have your head before daybreak should you choose to unearth my sins with that video. ”
“I’ll find a way,” Killian said, chin held high. “Don’t you worry about that.”
I gripped onto Killian’s waist, and my fingers grazed the hard outline of the butt of a gun. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy he’d kept it or terrified. I squeezed my eyes closed, and a hailstorm of bullets flashed across my mind.
Shit, there was no way we were making it out of a gun fight alive. But if I got the first shot in...
Pretending to hide behind Killian, I whispered, “Just keep him talking.”
I reached for the gun, and every muscle in his body tensed. I’d never actually shot one, but I was fairly certain I could figure it out.
“No,” he hissed, and my fingers slid off the cold metal.
“It’s the only way.”
“No,” he gritted out again.
Stan moved closer, the pistol still trained at Killian’s head.
“Now, this is how it’s going to work, Killian.
You’re going to hand over the video, and every single damned copy you’ve made, and we’ll pretend like none of this ever happened.
I’ll allow you to keep the Davenport name and all the privileges that come along with it, so long as you behave from this day forward.
The only thing you must give up for this gross lapse in judgment is her. ”
Those piercing blue eyes seared into me, and a chill cascaded down my spine. That paralyzing fear loomed over me, icy fingers squeezing my lungs.
I almost gave into the terror. Almost plunged back into the darkness.
“Fuck you and your deal, Stan,” Killian spat and, just like that, his voice calmed the brewing storm.
“I don’t want anything from you. I don’t want your name, your money, or any of your damned connections.
The price I paid to live this lie was too fucking steep, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. ”
“The rest of your life in poverty with that little cunt?” He flipped the pistol around his finger, nonchalantly. “How are you going to pay for Stonewall, son? And what about your poor mother? You’re not thinking this through clearly.”
“Enough!” Fury roiled through his body, the anger seeping through the rigid set of his shoulder blades. His muscles coiled, ready to strike, and that fear surged through me anew. “I warned you—” Killian lunged.
A shot went off, piercing the thick silence.
My scream ricocheted through the dark warehouse as he fell on Stan. “Killian!”
“Stay back!” he shouted over his shoulder.
Killian had Stan pinned to the floor, but they were both still wrestling, the gun concealed somewhere between their bodies. Arms and legs were tangled, ripping and tearing, clawing and punching.
Everything was happening so quickly, but my mind felt like mush, their movements playing out in slow motion. I was completely frozen.
Come on, Lexi, snap the fuck out of it.
Blinking quickly, I scanned Killian’s back for a wound, but came up empty, then moved to the dark gray cement, and another wave of fear gripped my heart as my gaze settled on a deep crimson puddle.
Shit. Who was the blood coming from?
Muffled grunts and curses sailed across the space, and Stan’s pistol skidded across the cement floor.
The gun.
The haze of fear lifted, and I caught the glimmer of the silver revolver still protruding from the waistband of Killian’s jeans. I lunged for it, tugging it out of his pants. With my hands shaking, I pointed it at Stanford Davenport, the man who’d nearly ruined my life.
Because he didn’t actually ruin it. I’d gotten this far all on my own, in spite of everything. And I’d become damned stronger despite him.
I’d survived.
I cocked the hammer back and leveled it right between his cold, cruel eyes. I needed to end this. Now. “Let him go,” I snarled.
“No, Lexi, don’t!” Killian’s anguished cry cut through the chaos in my mind. He turned those blazing emerald orbs on me, and the fear buried below the jeweled surface halted my trembling finger on the trigger.
With the few inches of space Stan had gained from Killian’s distraction, he stretched his arm out, reaching for the pistol just a hair's breadth away.
“No!” I shouted.
Killian leapt out of the way, and I dropped the muzzle a few inches south and squeezed.
I held my breath as the bullet sped through the air.
A satisfying scream tore from Stan’s mouth as blood blossomed across the crotch of his khaki pants.
“You bitch!” he cried as he curled into the fetal position, cupping his balls. Another string of curses burst free as he writhed in pain.
“Try molesting an innocent girl now without a cock, you sick asshole.” I tossed the gun to the floor, and a wave of relief rolled through me.
Killian grabbed Stan’s pistol and shoved it into his back pocket before he leapt at me, jerking me into his arms. “Fuck, Red, thank God you’re okay. What were you thinking?”
His mouth claimed mine before I could get a word out.
I kissed him hard, all the fear and anger pouring into that one fiery moment. “I love you, Killian, I love you so damned much. I could never stand losing you, no matter the cost.”
“Red, I’d die a thousand times over so that you could live.
” Every word felt like a vow. “I’m so damned proud of the woman you’ve become, and your mom would’ve been too.
I’ve loved you since we were kids, and letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life.
” He framed my face with his strong hands, eyes pinned to mine.
“I just want to be with you, nothing else matters. I hope you won’t mind living on our little boat and surviving off ramen and peanut butter and jelly for the next two years. ”
Our little boat.
Of that entire heartfelt monologue, that was what I focused on. Our future. My heart soared at those beautiful words and the look in Killian’s eyes. “It sounds perfect.”
A gunshot cracked through the room.
All the air vanished from my lungs.
Killian’s eyes blew wide, then something in them dimmed. His weight sagged against me.
“Killian!” Panic sliced through my chest.
He turned, already fading, already slipping. His hand found the pistol like instinct, like muscle memory.
He fired a second shot.
Stan’s head snapped back, blood painting the wall behind him.
And then Killian dropped.