Page 57 of Worshiping Faith

But after? He knew.

Fredricks is gone, Sinclair is gone, but he’s still breathing.

He doesn’t deserve to.

I move before I even register it, my fingers already curling around my gun.

I don’t think.

I don’t hesitate.

I just pull the trigger.

The shot rips through the air.

A thunderous crack, louder than my heartbeat, louder than his words.

Quince jerks back. Blood explodes across the wall behind him.

His mouth gapes open, but there’s nothing left inside him. No sneer, no words.

Just emptiness.

The ringing in my ears is deafening.

The gun is still warm in my hands.

I stare at the mess for a second too long.

It’s not a person I just killed.

It’s another piece of this fucking nightmare.

Another thing I need to end before it drags me down with it.

The blood drips down the bars, thick and slow, and I let out a breath, it feels good.

I turn.

My chest is tight.

The smoke lingers in the air, thick, acrid.

My hands don’t shake.

My pulse doesn’t race.

It’s just done.

I keep walking.

Jinx still needs to eat.

Chapter Thirteen

Wilkes

A voice crackles over a loudspeaker in the distance. Muffled. Faint.