Love, Lies, and Deception(68)
Bursting out crying, I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him. “I’m so stupid,” I sobbed angrily. “I should never have doubted you. Please say you forgive me.”
Peering over his shoulder, Kristian was losing the fight and growing weaker with each punch. As much as I wanted to talk to Alec, Kristian needed help, badly. “We need to help Kristian,” I insisted desperately. “We can’t leave him. He may not be innocent, but he never wanted to hurt me.”
Alec scowled. “He doesn’t deserve the help, but I’ll do it for you. I need you to get out of here and out of sight. I don’t know what Justin will do if he finds you. The police will be here soon.”
Pulling me to my feet, he kissed me again quickly. “I love you, now go,” he muttered, before turning away to help Kristian. As soon as Alec pulled Justin off of Kristian he collapsed onto the ground, wincing in pain; I couldn’t leave him there.
Shakily, I staggered over to Kristian and fell onto my knees beside him. I glanced down at his leg, and even though there was blood dripping down it only looked like a graze.
“I’m okay,” he said through clenched teeth. “It’s just a scratch.” He winced as he sat up, but he clutched me to him with all the strength he had. “Please forgive me, Mare. I love you and I would never hurt you. It made me sick when I found out what Justin was doing behind my back. All I wanted was you, and to keep you safe from him.”
“I know,” I breathed. “The police will be here soon, Kristian.”
Kristian nodded somberly and closed his eyes. “I accept my fate, Mare. All I want to know is if you forgive me.”
Before I could answer, the gun went off behind me and a searing hot pain spiked in my side. Warm blood soaked through my shirt and I stared at it wide-eyed, shocked. I couldn’t move; I was frozen in place, staring at the red liquid pumping out of the hole in my side.
“No!” Alec and Kristian yelled at the same time.
Turning around slowly, my gaze landed on Alec whose face was flushed in fear. He wanted to come to me, but Justin had the gun pointed straight at his chest. Justin laughed at Alec’s pained expression and sneered, “This wasn’t exactly the way I wanted her to die, but I guess it’ll have to do. Now you’ll get to see what it’s like to watch the woman you love die before your eyes.”
Kristian fumbled quickly behind me, and I hissed as more pain shot through my body. Kristian applied pressure to my wound to help staunch the flow, but then he pulled one of my hands behind my back and laid something cold and hard in my grasp. It was a gun.
With Justin taunting Alec, he had no clue what Kristian was doing. He bent his head lower and whispered in my ear, “You can do this, Mare. You were always the better shot than me, and we only have one chance. He will kill Alec if you don’t do this. That was always his plan. Shoot straight, baby girl, and end this.”
Gripping the gun in my hand, I closed my eyes and the tears started to fall as I remembered what my dad had always said to me when he would take me shooting. It was almost the same thing Kristian just said to me.
He would say, You can do this, princess. Take a deep breath, and with a steady hand keep your eye on the target. If you believe in yourself you will never miss your mark.
Taking a deep breath, I quickly pulled the gun out from behind my back and pointed it straight at Justin’s head. Everything moved in slow motion after that, and even though I’d been shot I was extremely focused.
Justin’s smile slowly faded when he realized what I was doing and I could see his finger about to pull the trigger on the gun that was pointed straight at Alec. My eye was on the target, and I had only one chance to hit my mark.
Without hesitation, I fired off the gun. Suddenly, everything went black.
“Marissa! Marissa, wake up,” Alec cried, gripping my face in his hands. I was slipping in and out of the darkness, but I used all the strength I had to open my eyes one last time.
I was on the ground, and when I looked up both Alec and Kristian were there, each holding one of my hands. The grave expressions on their faces let me know that my condition wasn’t good. Sirens blared out in the distance and I knew they were coming for me.
“What happened?” I asked weakly. “Where’s Justin?”
Both guys hesitantly glanced at each other and back down to me. “He’s dead, Marissa,” Alec informed me warily. “Your dad taught you well.”
Hesitantly, I gazed up at Kristian who smiled and shook his head. “I’m okay, Mare. There was no other way.”
I knew I should feel guilty about killing a human being, but I didn’t. Justin deserved what he got, and to save Alec and Kristian I would do it all over again. “You need to get out of here,” I whispered to Kristian. “Go … now.”
He shook his head and kissed my hand. “I can’t leave you, not like this.”
“She told you to go,” Alec growled through clenched teeth. “I’d listen to her if I were you. I want nothing more than to see you put away, but Marissa seems to think otherwise. She doesn’t need you anymore now that I’m here.”
The sirens grew closer and I knew we were out of time. Kristian closed his eyes and when he opened them a lone tear fell down his cheek. Out of the past two years I’d known him, I never saw him cry. Slowly, he bent down and laid a soft, gentle kiss to my lips.