Page 187 of Burning Daylight

The next few minutes are complete chaos.

“Ty,” Lance yells out, his voice rough and deep, like he’s trying to hold it together. He grasps Tyler’s body in his arms, and he’s shaking so violently I can see it from where I’m still holding onto Merrick.

I’m frozen in my spot, because Merrick is still breathing, and I’m afraid if I move, if I let go, then he’ll die.

The gun hangs loose at Frederick’s side, and Tyler is on the sidewalk with blood pooling beneath him and a hole in his chest.

Bile rises up my throat, and I glance away, nostrils flaring as I keep it down.

This is not the time to freak out.

“You are sofucked!” Rosalie screams, pointing at Frederick. “I hate you. Ihateyou, do you hear me? Uncle Craig won’t let you get away with this!”

Frederick laughs and walks forward, brushing the barrel of the gun down Rosalie’s face. “I’m fucked?” He swings around, giving me a side glance, and then looking back at them. “I’m thebosshere.”

What?

Rosalie drops down next to Lance and Tyler, big fat black mascara tears running down her face and streaking on her cheeks.

“Tyler!” she screams instead, her voice broken. “Ty…please.”

“Shut her up, Lance, or I’ll do it for you.” Frederick points to Rosalie.

Lance glares at him. “You were supposed to end all of this, not make things worse. We trusted you.”

My heart twists, confusion making my head throb and my stomach drop.

Frederick cracks his neck and then turns on his heel, walking toward me with slow, deliberate steps. “Lesson number one. Never trust anyone.”

It takes me a moment to realize that he’s talking to me.

“Fuckyou, Frederick,” I snap.

He crouches down next to me, and then before I can even process it, he reaches for my hand, pressing something cold into it.

The gun.

My fingers wrap instinctively around it, and then I panic, dropping it to the ground. It’s too late, though. It’s right there. My grip, smudged with Merrick’s blood.

My prints are all over that weapon.

“You’re out of your mind,” I whisper, my voice cracking.

Frederick smiles. “Can’t believe you’d do all this just to help your father seek his revenge.”

My eyes widen.

“There are witnesses,” I say, my chest feeling like it might explode from the pressure. “You can’t spin this.”

“Yet everyone here knows what they saw.” He looks back to Rosalie and Lance, who both have looks of grief but resignation on their faces.

Tyler twitches on the ground.

Frederick stands and straightens his tux. “Tyler’s always been a loose cannon. Everyone knows it. He snapped and shot Merrick, and you jumped in, got caught in the chaos.”

I shake my head.

“I got here just in time.” He grimaces. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough to save you from ending your own life.”