Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Trying to reason with Yuli while she’s got that crazed look in her eyes is a lot like reasoning with a herd of startled circus elephants halfway through a stampede. I switch tactics. “Think about Jared, Yuli. He was going to leave with you because he wanted to be with you, but would he really want you to kill me?”
She waves the gun around in the air. “See? That’s exactly how I know that you never knew him at all. Jared never loved you. He wouldn’t care what happens to you. He was only with you for a piece of your parents’ real estate business.”
“That can’t be true. He didn’t own it. He never got a dime from it.”
“He was planning a hostile takeover long before you came into the picture, but after your parents died, you decided to play your hand at being Wonder Woman and decided to step in and attempt to run shit yourself. That’s when we decided on Plan B, otherwise known as his fake relationship with you. But you see, the market tanked, and the company became worthless. So, we came up with Plan C, to run off with boatloads of his investors’ money, rendering both you and your fake relationship useless.” She sighs. “It’s a shame though, that I killed your parents for nothing.”
“No!” I gasp and almost lose my footing once more.
My stomach doesn’t care that I’m holding on with everything I have and lurches violently. I vomit into the water below, holding on as highly as I can until my stomach is empty.
“Oh, yes,” she nods. Her eyes are wild. “Just a little snip of a wire here. A little snip of a wire there, and in less than an hour, their little flying lesson turned into a crash course straight into the Gulf of Mexico.”
My head is spinning. Yuli’s face is twirling around above me like an evil halo.
“You see, after I killed them, I thought your panic attack-riddled craziness would send you off the rails, making it easy for Jared to swoop in and take over the company. In fact, I was counting on it so we could shuttle you off to the looney bin or attend your funeral. Whichever. No preference. It’s too bad that fall from the bridge didn’t kill you the first time.” She cocks the gun. “Don’t worry. There’s virtually no chance of you surviving it again.”
I look down to the water below. I may not survive the fall the second time around, but the chances are better than a bullet to the head. Not by much. But better.
“You’re forgetting something,” I call to her over the sound of the rain clinking against the metal of the bridge. I meet her demonic eyes with my own determined and unwavering gaze.
Yuli impatiently taps her foot against the pavement. “Oh, yeah? And what’s that?”
I smirk. “Between the two of us, I’m supposed to be the crazy one.”
I let go of the wires and lean back with my arms spread wide.
And then I’m falling.
Falling.
Falling.
* * *
NINE
I reach the top of the bridge two seconds too late. Just in time to watch Lenny fall from the top of the causeway for the second time in my life.
It’s one of my nightmares and the very last thing I ever wanted to see again. It’s why I didn’t want to get close to her. It’s why I couldn’t stand the thought of losing her.
And now, she’s gone.
My heart is shattering, and as I hear the small sound of the splash below, it cracks wide open. “Lenny!” I cry. “Poe!”
Yuli turns and spots me. She fires and misses. I keep walking toward her like my entire body is made out of anger-based Kevlar, but anger, unfortunately, doesn’t equal bullet proof. She fires again, and this time, she doesn’t miss. I take a bullet to the chest, somewhere in the vicinity of my raven tattoo. But my heart’s still beating, and I’m still breathing, and there’s no time to wallow in the pain I feel. Only the pain I want to inflict.
By the time I reach Yuli, I don’t know how many times I’ve been hit, but luckily for me, she’s out of bullets and shaking with newfound fear.
I sneer at her traitorous eyes. “What? You’re done being a badass killer just because you don’t have any more bullets?” When I look at her, I see nothing but blood and hatred.
Revenge.
She points to the water. “She…she jumped, there was nothing I could do,” she lies.
I slap the gun out of her shaky grip.
She tries again. “I swear, she wanted to die. I was trying to save her. I fired at you because I thought you were the bad guys. The ones who killed Jared.”
Oh, but I am.
If she wants to play this game, I’ll play, and I’ll win. I soften my tone. “I get it. You’re obviously distraught, Yuli. Let me take you to the truck. My brother will be here in a minute. He’ll take you to the hospital, so they can check you over while I go down and look for Lenny.”