Chapter 22 #2
He smirked and snickered, but that resulted in another fit of coughing that had more blood oozing from his mouth. “You brainwashed her. She never would have wanted anything to do with you otherwise, and you know it. That’s why you did it, you knew she was too good for you.”
Snarling, a growl rumbled up my chest from the pit of my stomach as I pulled the trigger. Tyler grimaced, his face scrunching, but nothing happened. I was out of bullets. Heaving in frustration, I flung the gun aside, lifted the front of my shirt, and swiped the Glock, aiming it at his head.
“Sis? Oh, shit, Letta? Oh, my god, stay with me, honey. Open your eyes. Look at me.”
My heart turned over and I twisted my waist to look back at Vincent. Violetta was in here? Where?
He was sitting on the floor, one leg bent, my wife in his arms. Rocking her back and forth, he was petting her hair, the front of her tank top drenched in blood, more trickling down her face, between her eyes.
Shock hit like a boulder to my gut and the gun slipped from my fingers, thumping to the thick carpet. My jaw gaping, I crept to the front of the room, vomit rising up my throat. “Tiny?” I croaked, horrified at her grave appearance. “Baby, what happened?”
“You fucking shot her, you son of a bitch!” Vincent screamed through a sob, tears streaking his face. “How could you, Jackyl? How could you shoot her? Letta, please!” he shouted, shaking her by her shoulders. “Please, honey, open your eyes again and look at me.”
I shook my head in denial, my breaths coming in short, ragged pants. Her head was rattling around, her arms flailing. Lunging forward, I shoved him off. “Stop it, you’re hurting her!”
“Don’t fucking touch her!”
She slumped to the floor, her head lolling to the side, her arms splayed out awkwardly.
My sight raking over her several times, panic was erupting inside, clouding my thoughts as I instantly dropped to my knees.
“She’s not breathing. Oh, shit, she’s not breathing.
Tiny!” I boomed, cupping her cheeks. “Oh, my god, Tiny, wake up.”
Vincent pounced on me, knocking me away. “Don’t fucking touch her, you bastard. You did this! You fucking killed her. You killed my goddamn sister!”
The wind knocked from my lungs when his weight hit me and pinned me to the carpet.
Grunting, I rammed my elbow to the side of his face to free myself.
Scrambling to my feet, he was trying to stand as well, holding his nose, blood oozing between his fingers.
Before he could get off his knees, I grabbed the back of his shirt and slammed my knee into his sides, cracking his ribs.
Vincent wheezed and collapsed, squirming about, his face contorted in pain. “Fuck, ah, shit.”
Frantic, I looked around, spotting my gun by Tyler’s motionless body. Stomping over to him, I swiped it and hurried back to my oldest and closest confidant. My teeth gritted, I cocked and aimed, my chest rising and falling erratically.
“You stabbed me in the back, Vinny,” I grumbled, shaking my head. “Out of all the people in the world, you was the last one I thought would betray me.”
He was wheezing, struggling for a proper breath. “You crossed the line with my sister.”
“We fell in love!” I argued, my voice roaring in the silence.
His weight in a forearm on the floor, his spine was arching toward the ceiling as he managed to lift to one knee. His head bowed low, it shook side to side, sweat dripping to the ruined carpet. “You twisted her head up. She was just a kid. You had no right.”
“I had every right! You were gone, Vinny. You asked me to watch her—”
“To protect her!” he shouted back, tipping his head to glare up at me, bruises already forming under his bloodshot eyes. “Not to use her or to ruin her life.”
“She had no one,” I seethed, tapping my chest. “I was the only one there for her. I earned her—”
“She ain’t a fucking prize, Jackyl,” he argued, managing to get to his knees. “She was my sister.” His chin bowed, his face in his palms. “She was my sister,” he wept, his shoulders quaking.
My brows arched, sorrow ripping through my core as my focus shifted to her just lying there, not moving, not breathing. Tears burning my eyes, my heart was breaking, all my hopes and dreams slipping through my fingers.
With my distraction, he lunged to his feet, screaming through gritted teeth, and swung his fist forward, slamming a knife deep into my chest. I hollered in pain and stumbled backward, my free hand instinctively grabbing the handle.
“You motherfucker!” I roared, trying to pry it out.
Overwrought with agony, my fingers were too broken and swollen to properly grip the blade, so I struggled to pull it out.
In doing so, I ended up cutting deeper and wider before finally removing it.
Trembling, the awkward hold uncurled and the bloodied weapon fell to the floor.
I looked at the hole, stunned at how much was dribbling down my chest. Did he hit an artery?
Christ, I already felt so woozy and weak.
“You piece of shit,” I seethed, lifting the gun. No way in hell he wasn’t going out, too. We were all going to die today.
He just squared his shoulders and stared into my eyes. “Do it, Jack. Pull the fucking trigger! If she goes, I go. She won’t leave this world without me.”
The grief hit over the physical pain, my attention briefly flitting to my dead wife. “Tiny,” I croaked, a tear sliding down my cheek. “My baby…”
“Do it, Jackyl!” he bellowed, shaking his fists. “Hurry, don’t let her be alone over there.”
My arm stiffened and I sneered, the layers of betrayal outweighing everything else. “Rot in hell, Vin,” I whispered and slowly pulled the trigger.
“No!” a voice shouted from behind.
Startled, I bristled and leaned to the side.
As soon as I peered around Vincent, a boom echoed and my head shot back.
On instinct, I squeezed the trigger, releasing another resonating bang that had Vincent crying out.
All the voices in my brain were suddenly silent, and everything went quiet except for my heart beating in my eardrums. Stunned, there was instant numbness of all the pain, my arms falling to my sides, the gun slipping from my fingers.
One moment, I was staring at Dash leaning in the doorway, the next, I was staring at the smooth, white ceiling.
Bit by bit, my pulse slowed and faded as darkness crept through, eventually fading out everything until there was nothing.