Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 72340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Helplessly, I watch between blurred eyes as he walks to another person, pointing his gun at their head.
The woman next to him begins to cry. Her body is shaking while she says a prayer in a language I don’t understand. I watch Enzo step aside and come to a stop directly in front of her. She draws back from him as much as she can with the wall directly behind her. He is truly the devil in human form.
“You cower in fear, yet you were okay with your husband borrowing money without paying it back.” His voice is rising with every word that leaves his mouth. “Here you are now, pleading and begging not to die. People like you will beg and plead for everything your whole life.”
I’m not sure how much more I can take. If I can stand idly by watching him tear these people to shreds, what type of person does that make me?
“We have children…families,” the woman sobs.
“And where are they now while you get high and drunk?”
The woman looks away, ashamed. “Child protective services took them away, but I’m trying to be better so I can get them back. They need me!”
“Because you’re such an outstanding mother?” he quips.
I don’t know her whole story, but I don’t care what she did. She doesn’t deserve to die. She is still a mother who will be mourned by her children.
I just can’t take it anymore. I can’t stay silent. I need to do something, no matter the consequences.
“Stop this insanity right now!” My voice doesn’t shake, I’m not afraid to stand up to him. I don’t know how, but I’m filled with an inner strength that spurs me to try and help these people.
He spins around so quickly, my head is reeling. Mack gives me a harsh shake as if to say, ‘shut your mouth, you crazy bitch.’ But it isn’t me who is crazy. Enzo’s eyes zero in on me like I’m prey. With precision, he crosses the room, his body gliding across the ground. I should be scared, I should be begging, pleading, crying, and wanting nothing but mercy from him. I’m not, though. I’m standing tall, and I will look him straight in the eyes and tell him what a crazy fuck he is.
His fingers dig into my arm painfully as he drags me out into the center of the basement, so all eyes are on us. I don’t even try to stop him since I know it will be useless. His scent surrounds me, making me forget where we are for a second.
All those things disappear the moment I feel the warmth against my skin. The barrel of his gun is pointed at the side of my head, and for one tiny second, I wonder if he will actually pull the trigger this time.
Pain registers in my mind as he grips me harder, twisting me around to face him. His eyes are black, and there is a bleak chance that I will not walk away from this.
“Does anyone want to explain to this girl what happens when someone defies me?” My heartbeat skyrockets and is the only thing I can hear in my ears. Everything else seems far away as I stare into a pair of eyes that see nothing but death.
The room remains silent, and I don’t dare look away from him. It is as if it is a contest to see who will give mercy first. I have the strength my mother instilled in me.
“You cannot kill all these people simply because they owe you money,” I grind out. It is a whisper, but I know he hears me. I know he understands what I’m saying.
My words mean nothing to him, though. I know it the moment he shoves me away from him. He twists and turns away from me as I stumble backward. One of my high heels slips off my foot and falls to the ground. My body lands harshly on the unforgiving floor as my head smacks off the concrete.
My vision blurs when the popping noises begin. It sounds like a machine gun going off. I hear their screams, their pleas. I want to help them, use my body as a shield, but I’m in too much pain to get up. Everything is spinning around me, and my ears are ringing.
Suddenly, all of the noise stops. The room went from chaos to complete silence in the blink of an eye. Sitting up, I fight through the dizziness and look around me. What I see causes my heart to break.
Blood splatters across the walls as bodies sag to the ground. He has shot every single person… My body goes limp as tears spill from my eyes. How can someone be so fucked up? So uncaring? They were human too.
My stomach coils in pain, and I’m no longer able to hold back the vomit that wants to escape. Turning away, I throw up all over the floor. I continue dry heaving until there is nothing left. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I suck in much-needed air, trying to get my breathing under control. I’m still trying to comprehend everything I’ve witnessed when a hand reaches out, gripping my arm and pulling me to a standing position. My legs feel weak, my knees threatening to give out on me.