Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 119011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
And as Leo’s fingertips brushed against the gun, Zolt stepped forward and spoke from deep in his chest. “It was me. I killed your cousin.”
The surprised gasps of the Smokeys were soon dulled out by Zolt’s own heartbeat, which thudded against his eardrums, sending shivers down his body as the bloodshot gaze met his. Trowley’s features twitched, as if he were deciding if it wasn’t a bluff, so Zolt spoke on, ignoring Leo, who hissed something and tried to pull at Zolt’s shoulder.
“I didn’t want it to happen, but I was with my lover when Joe saw us, and he went ballistic. During the struggle, he had an unlucky fall and died. I am sorry.”
Trowley’s gun trembled by Shane’s forehead. “The fuck? You know what? I don’t even fucking care!” He shoved Shane to the ground, aimed at Zolt, and pulled the trigger.
It felt as if Trowley had pressed on Zolt’s heart and stopped it, making time obsolete and trapping him in this one moment, just before his life ended. He couldn’t hear the screams erupting around him. The future he planned with Leo couldn’t change the trajectory of the bullet meant for his heart. He didn’t hesitate, knowing with absolute certainty that he was doing the right thing.
He took a deep breath, and the last thing he saw was Leo’s smile.
Until Leo smashed into him with a broken cry. Within the blink of an eye, Zolt’s gaze met Leo’s who spiraled in front of him in slow motion, one hand clutching at Zolt’s shoulder for balance. The world shook when the front of the varsity jacket bloomed with red, leaving Zolt numb to the banging that followed.
Gunpowder was thick in the air when Leo collapsed, but Zolt caught him, cradling his limp body to his chest by the time his knees hit the asphalt. Zolt’s skull tightened around his brain, and he choked out a whine, stroking Leo’s face while the noise around him dulled down further, as if he’d gotten deaf from all the shooting.
Zolt barely glimpsed Trowley sliding to the ground, sentenced to death by the Smoke Valley MC firing squad. He didn’t even have to move a finger, because the firepower of the whole Heller clan backed him up before he could have asked for help.
Shane was crying as Jack pulled him up. Zolt wasn’t entirely present. He registered the screams, the fact that people were running away, the noise of a starting car, but all of that happened behind a wall, because his focus remained on Leo.
“What did you do?” Zolt choked out, but before Leo could have answered, Hank slid to his knees right next to them, shoving at Zolt’s chest.
“Let go of him!” he said, and when Zolt passed Leo to his father without thinking, Hank placed him on the asphalt, lowering himself to hiss at Leo.
“Someone call an ambulance,” Leo’s mother shrieked, running up to them with tears already streaming down her face. “Oh God, Leo!”
Zolt couldn’t breathe, his chest hollowing as it sank, squeezing tightly until his head started to spin. This couldn’t be happening.
“Why would you do that, Leo?” he cried as soon as he managed to fill his lungs again. Jack squeezed in next to him and pulled away the bloodstained flap of the jacket to reveal the wound peeking out through the torn fabric of Leo’s T-shirt.
The red stain spread to the size of a coaster, and Zolt’s numb brain already envisioned a coffin, Leo’s grave in the nearby cemetery—a life lost to protect a man unworthy of sacrifice.
“Leo, do you hear me?” Rain asked, scooting down on Zolt’s other side, her breath at the verge of wheezing.
Leo looked around and attempted to touch the wound, but Jack forced his hand down. “I killed Joe. Trowley’s cousin,” he took a deep, raspy breath, pale against the bright red of the stain. “I killed him. I couldn’t have Zolt go down for it. I… I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. I thought I handled it. Zolt helped me get rid of the body.”
Zolt’s eyes stung as he pushed past Jack and grabbed Leo’s hand when the crowd around them got dense. In the background, he could hear Mike describing the situation in detail, so he was likely the one contacting emergency services, but what mattered was Leo, and all the things he wanted to say.
“Hang in there,” Zolt choked out, stroking Leo’s hand with his thumb while Hank shook his head.
“Why didn’t you tell us? Why, son?”
“He’ll be fine. Seems the Jackals can only point their guns at shoulders,” Jeff said from above, tapping his own arm where he’d been hit weeks back.
Leo squeezed Zolt’s fingers, watching him with storm-colored eyes. “A Jackal came to Zolt’s to buy guns, and I… I already liked Zolt. I didn’t want him in trouble.”