Page 173 of Buried in Blood

Her lips part, but no sound comes out.

Good.

“I broke you because you needed breaking. Because you were nothing, but raw potential dressed in guilt. You were a game, Harmony. A sick little toy I played with when the world got boring.”

The gun stays level with her chest.

“I let you sleep in silk sheets while the others screamed behind steel. I let you walk beside me instead of crawl. And how did you thank me?”

I take another step. She flinches. My finger curls tighter around the trigger.

“You whispered lies into my ears while plotting your escape. You let your cunt get fucked by a man you probably don’t even fucking know. You aimed a gun at me like you thought you could end me.”

I laugh.

A real one.

Dark. Ugly.

“You were never a queen. You were just the best pawn I ever carved.”

Her chin lifts then. Just barely. Like she wants to pretend my words don’t matter.

But they do.

They always will.

I raise the gun higher.

“No more running.”

And I pull the trigger.

The sound splits the air like a scream.

She drops.

Reese shouts her name.

He’s the first to move, shoving past the others like they’re nothing but scenery in a play he never agreed to star in. He falls to his knees beside her. Grabs her. Shakes her.

Bleeds for her.

I tilt my head.

“Oh,” I murmur. “So that’s what this was.”

Hedoesn’t look at me.

But I see it.

The way his hands linger. The panic in his voice. The crack in his mask.

“You were fucking her.”

He flinches. My blood boils, but I remain calm. In control.

I grin. “I fucking knew it. You think I didn’t see it? The way you looked at her. The way you lied for her. Protected her. You think she loved you back? You think she’s capable of loving anything other than her own reflection?”