Page 163 of Unholy Masks

“Yara. No,” Ryden shouted.

Trish was desperate. So was I. More desperate than she was, than she could ever be. I still had something left to fight for. She had nothing!

“You’d die to save him!” Trish screamed. “After everything you had to go through to live.”

Another gunshot cracked through the air.

She was furious now. She didn’t care if the next bullet found me. If I died. Not anymore. Her love had descended into madness a long time ago. Now… she just wanted to end this, even if it ended with me. Us.

“You always thought about your survival first!” Her voice was full of accusation. “You fought so hard to survive.”

She was right.

Every choice I had made was about staying alive.

But now, with Ryden’s voice breaking somewhere behind me, I knew one thing for sure. Survival meant nothing if I had to live without him.

“You said you knew me better.” My voice shook, but I didn’t look away. “If you did, you’d understand. I’d die to save him.”

Trish stared at me.

For a moment, the calm mask she’d worn so effortlessly began to crack. Her face faltered. The color drained from her cheeks.

Then she laughed.

It was a broken, breathless sound, almost disbelieving. “You really mean that.”

“Yes. I do,” I whispered. “He’s the most important thing in this world to me. I won’t let you hurt him. He doesn’t deserve this.”

Another gunshot cracked through the room. She was furious now.

I ducked.

Trish screamed and swung the gun wildly, looking like a wild animal. A trapped, rabid animal with nowhere else to run, no one else to turn to.

I caught her wrist with both hands.

“Drop it! Drop the gun!”

“Get off me!” She bucked beneath me, thrashing, writhing.

I slammed her hand against the floor.

The gun slipped from her fingers and skidded across the floor.

For a second, we both stared at it. Then she lunged for it. I lunged for her. My fingers curled into her hair. I pulled her by her hair, throwing her down.

She screamed, glaring up at me.

“You ruined everything!”

“I didn’t. You ruined everything. For yourself.”

I pulled her head up before slamming it back against the floor.

The sound of her skull breaking against the wood was so… so fucking satisfying.

I saw the moment the fight left her. It was almost peaceful. A soft resignation. A surrender. She closed her eyes, a faint smile touching her lips.