Page 79 of Unruly

I keep walking, slow and steady, eyes locked on him. “Funny, coming from the guy who’s got a gun pointed at him.”

I glance at Halle. She’s still holding the shotgun, but her hands are shaking. Her eyes flick to me, wide and shocked, like she can’t believe I’m really here.

Zach lets out a short laugh. “You think this changes anything? She’s still my wife. She’s still coming home with me. You’re just some kid she’s using to feel better about herself.”

“She’s not your wife anymore. And she’s sure as fuck not going anywhere with you.”

Zach’s eyes flick to Halle, then back to me. His smile turns meaner.

“You really think she wants you?” He sneers. “She’s just using you to piss me off. The second she gets bored, she’ll drop you just like she’s dropped everything else. You’re nothing to her.”

I stop a few feet away from him, close enough that I can reach him if I need to.

“She doesn’t drop people, she escapes them. And you’re the one she ran from.”

Zach’s face twists. He takes a small step toward Halle, but I move with him, cutting him off.

“Don’t,” I warn, voice dropping. “Don’t you fucking take another step toward her.”

He laughs again, but it sounds strained now.

“Or what?” he spits. “You gonna play hero? You gonna save her from the big bad husband?” He looks at Halle again. “You really gonna let this kid fight your battles for you? You’re pathetic.”

Something cold settles in my chest.

“Halle,” I say, still watching Zach. “What did I tell you about fucking hesitating?”

I start moving toward Zach, ready to grab him and drag him the fuck away from her—I don’t care if I have to break every bone in his body to do it. But before I can reach him, the shotgun goes off, the sound deafening an already quiet bar.

Zach stumbles backward, eyes wide with shock, clutching at his side, blood already soaking through his shirt. For a second, he stays on his feet, swaying, like he can’t believe what just happened. Then he lunges at me anyway, but he doesn’t make it far. His legs give out as he crashes to the floor, gasping. Blood spreads fast across the old wooden boards.

Halle drops the shotgun, and it clatters to the ground as she backs up, eyes huge. She looks like she’s about to be sick, then her legs give out. She doesn’t fall, but she has to grab the edge of a barstool to stay up.

“Fuck,” she whispers. “Fuck, fuck, fuck⁠—”

She turns and disappears toward the back, probably looking for something to stop the bleeding.

He’s on his back now, one hand pressed weakly against the wound in his side. Blood is already spreading fast beneath him, soaking into the old wood. Every time he tries to push himself up, his arms shake and give out. He coughs, and bright red bubbles at the corner of his mouth.

His eyes find mine. There’s still hate in them, but it’s drowning under fear now.

I walk over to him slowly.

He looks up at me, chest heaving. “You … you can’t do this,” he rasps.

I lift my boot and press it down hard on the wound, grinding the heel in deep. Zach’s whole body jerks, and a raw, wet scream tears out of him. Blood spurts between my boot and his shirt, soaking into the floorboards faster now.

I lean my weight into it.

He screams again, the sound turning into a choked, gurgling mess as blood floods his throat. His hands claw at my boot, fingers slipping in his own blood as he tries to push me off. He can’t. He’s too weak. His legs kick weakly against the floor, heels scraping across the wood.

I press down harder.

“She may have been yours first, but she will always be mine.”

Zach’s eyes are wide and glassy, rolling with panic. He tries to speak, but all that comes out is a thick, wet choke. Blood pours from the corner of his mouth in a steady stream now, running down his jaw and into his neck. His fingers twitch against my boot one last time before they go slack.

I keep my boot there for a few more seconds, just to be sure. When I finally lift it, a thick, dark pool of blood stays behind, spreading slowly across the floor. Zach’s eyes are still open, staring at nothing, and his mouth hangs slightly open, more blood leaking from the corner.