Page 174 of Unsuitable

My heart is pounding. Panic and fear and adrenaline are burning through me like jet fuel, making my hands shake.

Damien tips his head to the side, his eyes appraising me.

I know he’s weighing whether or not I have the guts to pull the trigger.

Can I? Can I really do it?

I pull this trigger, and it’s game over for me. I will never get Jesse back. I’ll go back to prison.

Damien’s lips curl up into a sick, twisted smile, and I know he’s made his decision.

The choice is no longer mine.

I’m so sorry, Jesse.

Damien lunges for me.

And I pull the trigger.

Forty

I’d never put much thought into what it would be like to shoot someone.

I mean, it’s not like you ever think you’re going to be faced with the day when you have a gun in your hand, and a homicidal maniac is trying to kill you, so it’s going to be either him or you.

So, of course, it’s going to be you.

But pulling that trigger is nothing like you’d think it would be.

It’s not all glory where the bad guy flies backward, and I stand here, like a badass.

No. I’m the one who ends up on my ass. The kickback from the gun sends me flying backward.

And then, for what seems like the longest time, everything just stops.

The world goes kind of hazy, and it’s like the sound has been switched off.

The only thing I can hear is the sound of my own racing heart, pounding against my chest.

Then, it’s like the world slowly comes back into focus. And the volume is turned back up to loud. Every noise is being picked up by my ears. The sounds of traffic outside. The rattling of the windows as the wind blows against it.

Time restarts.

I’m on the floor with a gun in my hand.

And Damien Doyle is still on his feet, staring down at me in shock.

His hand is pressed to his stomach, blood seeping from the hole I just put in him.

“You fucking shot me,” he says the words like he can’t actually believe that I shot him.

Honestly, neither can I.

Body shaking, I manage to get to my feet. The whole time, I keep my eyes fixed on Damien and keep the gun pointed in his direction.

When I’m on my feet, I quickly glance at Kas on the floor and see that he’s slowly coming around.

Eyes moving back over, past Damien, I look at Cece.