Page 57 of Beautifully Shattered (Secrets & Scars #3)

T he sight of Donny Allen has the opposite effect on me as the last time I saw him.

It’s not fear this time. It’s raw, electric anticipation.

I’m ready for him, and from the flicker of panic flashing in his gaze when our eyes locked, he bloody knows it.

Donny bolts for another hangar. It’s not one of the ones we had planned to ambush, but the second he slips in through the access door, I know that’s exactly where I’m going.

I don’t have one of those fancy earpieces like Ringo and JD have, but I can’t risk Donny getting away while I waste time finding backup.

I’m ending this today.

I’m ending him, so I can finally breathe again.

With a shaky grip, I wrench the door open, storming in with my gun raised high.

It’s dark, but not pitch black. There’s enough light filtering through the skylights to see the two light planes parked inside, and the bottom of Donny’s legs as he scurries across the hangar floor.

Got you, motherfucker!

Charging forward, I duck under the wing and around the plane, the barrel of my gun trained on Donny’s back as he runs.

Just as I squeeze the trigger, a hand snatches my ponytail in a brutal yank, jerking me backwards, and the shot goes high.

I scream, my feet leaving the ground before my back slams onto the cold concrete, knocking the wind from me.

A vile laugh that I never wanted to hear again cuts through my panic, and I look up to see the familiar eyes of Donny’s uncle Ian.

“You really thought you had him, didn’t you?” Ian Allen looms above me, his own gun now trained on my chest as I gasp for air.

“He’ll…” I cough, “keep.” I snarl the second word, and Ian’s brows hitch in surprise.

“The girl finally has a bit of fight in her,” he laughs, low and mean. “This is going to be fun.”

Slowly, a smug grin unfurls on my face as my hand wraps around the hilt of the knife at my hip, and I nod up at him.

“Yeah. It is.” Letting out a war cry, I slam the blade into his ankle, and he instantly howls in agony.

Blood spurts from the wound, causing him to slip, and his head cracks against the concrete floor with a sickening thud, his cries instantly cutting off .

“Hey! Get away from him!” Donny roars from somewhere, and with Ian now unconscious at my feet, I scramble for my gun, scooping it up and whipping around just as Donny skids to a halt, his eyes going wide.

“Fuck!” he hisses, spinning on his heel and bolting back the way he came, but this time when I squeeze the trigger, my aim is true, and the bullet tears into his back.

He stumbles forward, a strangled cry ripping from his throat as he crashes to the floor.

A rush of triumph surges through me, the heat of it flooding my veins. But it’s not enough.

Not yet.

Not until he’s dead.

Standing, my legs are trembling as I keep my gun trained on him, slowly approaching as he tries to crawl away, his blood smearing the concrete.

“I would have liked this to be slow,” I tell him with an icy chill to my voice as I reach his side, planting my boot on the bullet hole weeping crimson.

He screams, the sound like music to my ears, reminding me of the day Karl Stone died.

Karma always comes. Don’t they know that?

“I’ve dreamed of this day, you know,” I murmur, leaning down so he can hear the hate in my tone. “I really wanted to see exactly how you’d like a taste of your own medicine.” I grind my boot down harder, drinking in every ragged scream that falls from his lips.

“Stop! P-please! I’m s-sorry.” He sobs, his voice breaking.

I scoff. “No, you’re not. You loved every minute of raping me, Donny. Don’t you dare pretend you regret a thing. ”

“P-please I’ll d-do anything,” he begs, and I sigh, lifting my foot from his back and shoving him over so I can see his ugly, pale face.

“Anything?” I ask, letting the word drip from my lips and smiling when he nods frantically.

“You’re not gonna like it,” I say, almost sweetly, as I aim the gun at his shoulder and pull the trigger.

He howls, blood splattering up my legs, and without hesitation, I shift my aim to his other shoulder and fire again, the second shout tearing another guttural scream from his lungs.

He’s a sobbing, broken mess. “P-please… s-stop…”

“Do you remember me begging, Donny?” I ask, dropping to my haunches. “Do you remember me pleading with you to stop?”

He cries out something I can’t make out, so I press my gun to his lips, watching his tear-filled eyes go wide.

“Open wide, Donny,” I say, nudging the barrel against his lips.

“You know how this goes, don’t you? It’s exactly what you did to me.

” I shove the cold metal between his teeth, his muffled cries vibrating against the barrel.

“Yeah, I know. You used your diseased dick instead of a gun. But the thing is, Donny, it might as well have been a gun for me.” My lip curls into a feral snarl as I ram the gun deeper until he gags, choking wetly around the steel.

“What were the words you said?” I taunt, his pathetic whimpers stoking the fire inside me. “You said, ‘ take all of it, you cunty whore, and fucking choke!’ ”

I shove the barrel so far down his throat he splutters, his eyes rolling back as he starts to violently choke .

As much as I want to drag this out, to watch him die a thousand deaths, I know he’s not worth a second of my life.

So I squeeze the trigger.

Blood and brain matter literally explode around my hand, up my arm, and over my face.

A rush of pure, soul-deep satisfaction rolls through me at the knowledge that Donny Allen is finally dead, and for a long beat, I just stare at the place his face once was.

A noise behind me snaps me back to reality, and I spin on my knees, my gun raised as I catch a bloody trail smearing the concrete where Ian Allen was moments ago.

With my heart in my throat, I scurry up, following the crimson trail, spotting my knife on the floor on the other side of the plane. My eyes track the bloody path until I see Ian Allen limp-running for the exit.

I point and shoot, but I miss, his deep yell echoing in the hangar before he bursts through the door, vanishing out into the chaos.

I sprint after him, my boots pounding the concrete as I dodge the slick trail of blood he left behind, and when I reach the door, I burst through it, stumbling into a war zone.

It’s utter chaos. There’s gunfire coming from every direction. I can’t tell if it’s friendly fire or the enemy. There’s smoke and flames from the hangar that blew up, plus a plane burning out in the open.

Scanning the swirling smoke, I finally spot Ian Allen limping towards another hangar, and not far behind him is Ringo.

My shoulders relax at seeing my man moving like a predator, his sights set on the man he wants to kill .

I take off in their direction, desperate to reach my husband, to watch the moment he ends that fucker, once and for all.

I’ve barely covered a few metres when movement flickers at the edge of my vision. I try to pick up speed as the bulky form charges for me, but it’s too late. Their heavy footsteps thunder closer, and a second later, I’m tackled hard to the ground, my gun skittering across the pavement out of reach.

“You’re coming with me, bitch!” the man snarls against my ear, his weight crushing me into the pavement.

The moment he yanks me upright, I whip my knife around and slam it backwards into his hip with all the strength I can muster.

He howls in agony but refuses to let go, his fist slamming into the side of my head and rattling my brain.

Darkness rims my vision as stars burst past my eyes, and I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to collapse as I thrash in his grip.

“Let me go!” I screech, and he laughs like I said the funniest joke.

“No fucking way am I letting you go,” he growls, spittle hitting my cheek. “You know how many men have died trying to get the fucking bounty the cult freak put up for your capture? I’m gonna fucking claim it, bitch.”

I start laughing, loud and unhinged, feeling him stiffen like I hoped he would.

Men really can’t handle a crazy bitch.

“You idiot. He doesn’t have any money to pay you,” I lie, because hell if I know whether my grandfather does or not. “Once you hand me over, he’ll kill you. Why are you so dumb?”

“The fuck?!” He releases my hair and spins me to face him. “Did you just call me dumb?”

“If the shoe fits.”

“You fucking—”

Blood sprays across my face in a thick and chunky shower as the echo of a gunshot fades away.

“Fuck! Abbey, are you okay?” Jols hurries up to me, her eyes tracking over all the blood covering me, her hand gripping the gun she just used.

“None of it’s my blood,” I say, tugging off my hoodie and using it to wipe off my face with shaky hands.

“Thank fuck.” Jols sighs, her shoulders slumping in relief.

“Where’s JD?” I ask, and she tenses again. “I don’t know. I lost him in all the smoke and shooting.”

Nodding, I turn to face the hangar that Ringo chased Ian Allen into.

“Ringo chased Allen in there.” I point to the hangar, and then it erupts in a deafening explosion.

The force throws us back, and we land a few feet from where we were standing as air gets trapped in my lungs.

I sit up, tears stinging my eyes as I stare in disbelief at the blazing wreckage before me.

“NOOOOOO!!!” I scream, scrambling to my feet and sprinting towards the mangled, flaming inferno.

I barely make it a few steps before hands wrap around me from behind, yanking me back.

“Abbey! No!” Jols cries, but I fight and struggle against her hold, tears searing my cheeks.

“RINGO!!!” I scream, my heart ripping from my chest so savagely that I know I’ll never survive this. “RINGO!!!!”

I wrench free of Jols’ grip, trying to bolt closer, but the searing heat lashes across my skin like whips of lava .

“Stop, Abbey!” Jols cries, and the agony in her voice only twists the invisible knife deeper in my chest.

Ringo went into that hangar.

It blew up… with him inside.

My knees buckle, sending me and Jols to the pavement as a wailing scream explodes from the pit of my soul as the truth of what’s happened starts to sink in.

Colour starts to seep from my world. Nothing but greys and blacks closing in as ice creeps into my veins. Through the blur of tears, I stare at the rolling smoke, every breath ragged as I completely shatter.

My cruel mind plays tricks on me, imagining a figure striding through the flames, plumes of smoke billowing around him as he moves with unyielding power and purpose, like an immortal being.

“Abbey…” Jols whispers at my ear, her arms loosening around me. “It’s him.”

No, this is too cruel. Why would my mind play tricks on me like this?

“Angel!”

I jerk at the sound of his voice, swiping furiously at my eyes as Jols helps me to stand.

A gust of wind whips between us, blowing aside the thick smoke revealing my husband, his clothes torn, his skin streaked with soot, but his steps moving with the same unstoppable purpose that first made me fall for him.

“Cameron?!” I cry out, my voice breaking, and the moment he starts sprinting towards me, I take off for him. “Cameron!”

“Abbey!” he roars, like it’s him who feared I was the one who died, and we charge towards each other, sobs ripping from me right as we slam together like two magnets that were never made to be apart.

I wrap myself around him as our lips clash in a fierce, desperate kiss, the taste of my tears mixing with it as we grapple at each other.

“Fuck, Angel,” Ringo gasps, pulling back just enough to press his forehead to mine.

“I t-thought y-you w-were d-dead,” I sob, and he swipes at my tears with his gentle thumbs.

“Gotta be honest. I thought I was too for a second there,” he admits, and I kiss him again, clawing at his beard to bring him closer.

“You’re not allowed to leave me.” I sob, pulling back and slapping his shoulder, and his smile makes the agony in my chest start to ease.

“It’ll take more than bullets, knives and explosions to keep me away from you, Angel. That I fucking guarantee.”

A giggle bursts from me, and I hug him so tight I feel his heartbeat slamming against mine.

“Did you get Ian Allen?” I ask, and Ringo’s smile fades.

“The fucker got away. There was a four-wheeler parked behind the hangar. But his time will come, Angel. Don’t you worry.”

Nodding, I smile, excited to tell Ringo the news. “I killed Donny.”

His brows shoot up. “Really?”

“Choked him with the barrel of the gun first, and then I blew his head apart. Literally.”

A savage grin spreads across Ringo’s face. “Fuck, there’s my little demon.”

“Ahh, guys…” Jols st eps up, her eyes focused on something to our side, and we turn to see JD dragging someone across the gravel by their hair.

“Oh sweet Abbey,” JD sings, his eyes gleaming. “I got you a pressie!”

Ringo lets me go as I push back from him, my boots hitting the ground just as JD shoves the whimpering man at our feet.

“Thought you might want to do the honours.” JD grins wolfishly, gesturing to the pathetic, sobbing form on the ground.

A sickening chill ripples up my spine at the sight of my ex-boyfriend, Daniel, who is actually my cousin, and I have to fight the urge to throw up.

“Abbey. Please,” he pleads, blood-streaked snot running from his nose.

I shake my head slowly as disgust curls my lip. “It’s funny how you are all sooo sorry when it gets to this part.” I roll my eyes, extending my hand with my palm open, and Ringo places his gun in it without hesitation.

I check the chamber with steady hands, the metallic click ringing louder than Daniel’s pathetic whimpers.

Then I level the gun at his forehead, pressing the barrel hard enough to leave an imprint.

“Wait! Don’t kill me! You need me!” he cries, his voice trembling with panic.

I scoff. “What I need is you dead!” I start to squeeze the trigger.

“No, wait!” he shrieks. “If you kill me, you’ll never find her!”

“Find who?” I snap, pausing on the trigger as I tilt my head, studying the terror twisting Daniel’s face.

“Your baby didn’t die, Abbey. She’s still alive.”

** *

Is little Bobbi really alive?

Find out in BEAUTIFULLY SAVAGE, Secrets & Scars Book 4 - the final instalment.