Chapter 29 #2
Blackwood tries to roll away, but Jed nonchalantly plants a firm boot onto the man’s bleeding crotch and curtails his futile attempt.
“Now, now,” he tells the groaning form as he tries to draw his knees up, “stay still and wait until the grownups are finished speaking. Don’t you want to find out how you’re gonna meet the devil?
Least now you know it’s not by hanging. Shame, that. ”
I take a deep breath, but Mara steals the thought right from my mouth as she narrows her gaze. “Don’t ask me again if I’m sure. My mind isn’t going to change.”
Then it’s settled. “If shooting him is what you need, that’s what you’ll get. We’re going to do it together, though. You’re not going to shoulder the weight of it all by yourself.”
Because I also remember telling her that it was a husband’s privilege to make things right again for his wife. And here and now, I believe the real privilege is in me helping her exact her own vengeance.
Something shines in her eyes as they finally soften. Something deeper than love. Like if love, relief, gratitude, and righteous vengeance all mixed together and spilled over. “Thank you,” she whispers.
Christ Almighty, I love this woman. I cup her head and press my lips to her forehead. “Don’t thank me for doing what a husband should do for his wife. Wait here until we get him ready.”
Blackwood fights as best he can, but between me and Jed, we stand him up and secure him to a tree.
“How about that, Blackwood? Guess you won’t be doing any dancing today,” Jed teases as he tests the knots for weaknesses.
Only thing he can move is his head, so that leaves the rest of him nice and stable for target practice.
Blackwood garbles something, but my brother’s face hardens.
“Actions have consequences, and now the devil’s come to collect his due.
We were already coming after you for Mara, but you moved up your own death date by taking her first. You don’t fucking mess with a Shay. ”
“Wait a second.” Something just occurred to me.
Something very important. Blackwood’s eyes dart to me in a last attempt to silently plead for mercy, but I flash a dark grin.
God may grant mercy, but I don’t. “Before we get started, there’s something on your hand that needs tending to.
Stand back a little bit, Mara. Don’t want any blood getting on you. ”
His eyes widen in horror when I unsheathe the knife that severed his cock, and I ignore his muted, high-pitched wails as I cut off the birthmark so eerily similar to Emmaline’s.
No wonder Mara was traumatized when she first saw it on our daughter’s tiny hand.
“That’s for my baby. My baby,” I emphasize.
The flap of bloody skin lands at his feet.
“She’s gonna grow up without any ties to you. ”
I back up and ease Mara about five feet away from our captive and unholster my gun. Blackwood screams behind his gag as his head thrashes back and forth, but Mara’s riveted by the gleaming weapon of death.
“Wait just a minute now,” I caution as she angles her chin to see it better.
“I’m still holding it until we go through a few things first. Shotgun’s gonna have too much kick, so we’re using this.
Lesson one—don’t aim it at anything you don’t intend to kill.
” All of us, with the exception of Blackwood, need to go home in one piece after this is over.
I wait for her acknowledgment before I continue.
“Two—fingers stay off the trigger until it’s aimed in the right spot. Chest shots are easier to land. See how far we are from him? You’d need to be closer than this if you wanted a clean head shot for the first time, but this is as close as we’re getting.”
As close as I’m letting her get, rather. Don’t want any more of him on her, whether blood or skin. The piece of shit whimpers and squirms as much as he can, but we ignore him.
“Three—hold it with your entire body, not just your hands. When the bullet leaves, it’s gonna be loud and knock you off balance unless you brace for it. Steady feet and steady arms.”
Mara adjusts her stance and looks to me for guidance. “Like this?”
God Almighty, but she looks something fierce. No doubt in my mind she was scared to death when they were taken, but right now, she’s a warrior goddess preparing to bestow the holy wrath of justice upon the evil of humanity. And I’m here to help her do it.
“Almost. Point your toes out.” Stepping behind her, I bump her knee until her leg and foot are where I want them. Then I guide her hands. “There you go. Hands here, and…yeahhh, there you go. You’ve got it. I’m gonna hold your arms to help with the recoil. Remember what I told you?”
“Aim to kill, fingers off the trigger until then, and keep steady.”
“That’s my good wife.” She’s so damn intense as she repeats my instructions. “You’re so strong,” I murmur into her ear as I brace her forearms. “Never broken. And you’ll never stand alone because I’ll always be right here with you.”
Mara glances up with a gratitude so at odds with our current circumstances. “Thank you for finding me and making me fall in love with you. You’re the only man I want to live this life with, Warren Shay.”
Tightening my grip so I don’t knock her off balance, I kiss the hell out of her. “Thank you for letting me love you. Now send this son of a bitch where he belongs.”
Then Mara faces Blackwood, squares her shoulders, and lines up the barrel to the center of his chest. Wetness seeps from his cockless manhood as he blubbers through his gag, but the time for sympathy is long past. “Go to hell, bastard,” she spits out, finger tightening on the trigger.
“See if you can count high enough for all the punishments the devil’s going to give you. ”
God, I’m so proud of her.
Boom!
She stumbles back, but my body stops her. Just as I expected.
“Did I get him?” she breathes heavily.
“Gut shot.” Admiration fills my voice as rivulets of red bloom at his abdomen. “You do so well with first times, Mrs. Shay.”
A faint smile crosses her lips, but then they flatten as Blackwood moans. His eyes that burned so brightly with hatred now glaze over with well-deserved suffering.
“Two choices, Mara.” I take the gun from her trembling hands as she leans back against me. “Sun’s going down. We can wait here until he bleeds out, or we can end it for good and take the kids home.”
“Let’s end this.” She doesn’t even think on it. “I want to go home.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” I brush a kiss to her sweat-dampened hairline.
It makes my blood fucking boil all over again for the hell he inflicted on her, what he did to Sullivan, and the fact that his filthy hands were on my daughter.
That he trespassed onto my land. Went into my house, a sanctuary where my family should have been safe.
Scared my wife, daughter, and family, and kicked my dog.
Part of his repayment was satisfied with Mara’s bullet, but now it’s time for mine.
For ours.
Big hands cradling smaller hands, we lift the gun.
We aim.
We shoot.
And as the purple and orange hues stain the sky to mark the setting of the sun, our bullet hits dead center of Montgomery Blackwood’s forehead, forever ending his hold on my family.