They were close to the front of the van now. Was one of them crawling away? Was it Alfie? Ivy had blinded him pretty good, giving Jackson a fighting chance while wounded.
"Elena!" Ivy hissed as she moved towards the front of the van.
I knew what she was thinking. Hopefully he'd left the keys, giving us a way to get out of here. I pushed off after her, my heart rattling in my chest.
Through the windshield, I saw Alfeo's face appear as he tried to stand—bloodied, eyes struggling to stay open from how red they were—just before Jackson tackled him again. They were still fighting. Still punching. Still trying to kill each other. The moon doused them in an eerie glow as Ivy moved to step into the front of the van.
"Run!" Jackson roared as he caught sight of us through the windshield.
"There's no keys!" Ivy hissed as she slid back. "He must have them. We need to get out of here." Ivy yanked me out the back of the van, and I stumbled after her. The cold air bit at my skin, but I didn't even make it a few steps before I froze.
I couldn't leave him.
I twisted back. Jackson was still fighting, still bleeding. I saw the discarded gun on the ground where it had fallen during their struggle to the side of the van. I moved before my brain did.What am I doing?The voice in my head screamed.I'm not a killer!
I picked it up. Cold. Heavy. Real.
I raised it as I moved to the front of the van, drawing in shaky breaths as Ivy stayed behind me, silent. My hands shook, but I aimed. The weight of it was nothing like I'd imagined.
Somehow, despite the pepper spray, Alfeo had Jackson down on the ground, and he was trying to pin his arms down.
"Stop," I said, my voice cracking. "I'll shoot." The wind whipped my hair across my face, but I didn't dare move to brush it away.
Alfeo laughed as he punched Jackson square in the jaw. "You don't have the nerve."
Jackson grunted, still trying to fight but growing weaker by the second. He'd lost too much blood, that much was obvious.
Alfeo hit him again, giving him a second where he finally looked up at me, his red eyes crazy.
He lunged forward, and I didn't think. I just pulled the trigger. The recoil shocked my arms, vibrating up to my shoulders.
The shot echoed as he dropped.
Right between the eyes.
Ivy gasped behind me. "Holy shit, Elena," she whispered.
I couldn't breathe. My knees buckled. The gun felt impossibly heavy now, like it was made of lead instead of metal.
Jackson rolled over, grunting as he dragged himself to me and pulled himself up to sit.
"It's okay, Elena." His voice was soft as I sucked in ragged breaths. He took the gun from my hands like it was made of glass. "You did what you had to," he said gently. "It was the right thing. This isn't your fault." His eyes held mine, steady despite the pain etched in the lines of his face.
I broke.
The sobs came fast and ugly. I couldn't stop them. I didn't even try. My whole body shook as the reality of what I'd just done crashed over me.I killed someone. I took a life.
My mother's daughter had just become a killer.
Jackson turned to Ivy. "Start the van."
We were in the middle of nowhere. A rundown house loomed behind us like a ghost, its windows dark and accusing. Ivy nodded before hesitantly approaching Alfie and checking his pockets.
I just sat there, still shaking as I did everything to not look at the man I'd just put down.
"It's okay, Elena, you're safe," Jackson murmured as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He struggled to his feet, grunting as he guided me up from the ground as well. I should've been the one helping him, but I couldn't get my mind or body to obey.
I could just see Alfeo's eyes as I pulled the trigger.
