Page 68 of Conquered Betrayal
“Oh, God. Landon.” Once beside him, I clutched at the collar. A sharp, heated spike of pain shot through my fingertips. I gasped, shaking out my hand, then looked over at Cliff to see if he had a remote. There was nothing on his belt except another gun and a radio.
My brother had to be close by. He wouldn’t do this without a way to enjoy it.
“Stop!” I screamed to the sky. “Stop! You can have me. You can kill me. Just stop hurting him.”
Landon made another horrible sound, one of protest. He pressed his face into my stomach, like he wanted to push me away. But I held tight, resting my face against his soft ear, trying to take his pain. “I’m not leaving you.” Tears leaked from my eyes.
He moaned, his paw stretching against my hip, another shove. I squeezed him harder.
“Your affection for that animal is truly touching, Jo.” My head snapped up at my brother’s voice. He stood behind Landon, a ridiculously large gun, a Desert Eagle, in one hand, the remote in his other. “You know they call it bestiality for a reason.”
I snarled at his amused tone. “Turn this off. Let him go.” Landon continued to moan in pain. “Please,” I begged. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
There was a moment where Emerson considered me, his thumb caressing the buttons on the remote. Then he sneered. “Don’t say I’ve never done anything for you.”
Abruptly, Landon’s body relaxed. His shoulders shuddered a breath. I stroked a hand down his snout, trying to ease his anguish. His tongue licked my palm, residual trembles vibrating from him to me where my thigh connected to his shoulder.
Weakened, he could hardly lift his head when Emerson stepped into his line of sight, speaking directly to him. “You try anything, and I’ll press the kill switch.” His gun trained on us, my brother’s thumb hovered over a red button at the bottom of the remote.
The band around my chest squeezed so tight I could barely breathe. I didn’t care what Emerson did to me anymore, didn’t care what I needed to promise, just wanted Landon safely away from here. I’d bargain with the devil himself if it meant Landon lived. I pressed my face into his neck.
“Why don’t you admit your feelings, dear sister.” Emerson’s voice cut through the dark. He walked around us, circling behind me. “Isn’t that what a pathetic person does at death’s door? Admit you want to fuck a beast.”
Glaring at him over my shoulder, there were hundreds of things I wanted to say about his deranged beliefs. I swallowed those words, and instead focused my attention on Landon. Those almost-black eyes looked upon me with sadness and defeat.
“I love him,” I said, and watched his eyes clear, becoming brighter. “I’ve never stopped loving him.”
Pressing his snout into my palm, Landon closed his eyes and huffed a long breath.
Emerson kept circling, coming closer. “Disgusting,” he murmured, his Desert Eagle aimed at the back of Landon’s head. “It’ll have to be a Romeo-and-Juliet-type love affair, because you both know too much.” My chest rose and fell with erratic breaths while he continued to speak. “Can’t have him going to all his business friends and telling them what happened here. And after your treachery, Jo, a bullet to the head is too kind for you.”
The sound of a helicopter in the distance made us all tense. Mahn looked to the east.
With a scream, I launched myself at him.Boom.The massive gun went off like a cannon, making my ears ring and my brain buzz. The bullet went wide. The sound of tree trunk exploding echoed as I grabbed the scorching barrel of the gun. I kept hold of it as my brother pushed me aside. I landed on my back, pain shooting up my skull. But I’d gotten the gun, and now aimed it at Emerson’s head from my position on the ground.
A sudden stillness descended over the three of us, a standoff. Emerson had his thumb over the red button, Landon froze in a half crouch, and my finger rested lightly on the trigger of the Desert Eagle.
Apprehension passed over Emerson’s face for a half second before he smirked. “You’re not going to kill me.” His words were muffled with my ears still ringing from the gunshot.
The helicopter neared. Was it more of his people or someone else? He didn’t seem worried.
“How can you be so sure?” I asked, my chest heaving, but I kept my aim true.
“You’ve never had the balls.” His thumb twitched over the red button.
I didn’t think twice.
Boom.
The sound of the Desert Eagle reverberated through the trees, making my tender eardrums ache. The kickback pushed me against the dirt. Emerson’s head exploded, brain matter spraying the trees around him, the rest of his body crumpling in a heap.
I blinked, not comprehending what I’d just done.
A roar of pain from Landon snapped me out of my shock. Had my brother hit the kill switch?
“Landon!”
Gun still in my hand, I rolled to my knees and crawled toward him. Agonized roars whimpered from his lips. His body shook with pain, like he was being electrocuted.
