What Lasts in Us

CHAPTER FIFTY

The blade hits his arm, slicing through bone and muscle. Blood coats the metal and sprays up at me, but I'm seeing red anyway. He screams as I remove the axe and swing again, the blade cutting through the same spot and slicing further. He falls, his arm hanging by what looks to be a thread of muscle and bone.

"Her death is on you!" I scream in between his screams. "Her death is on you! You killed her!"

Strangled sobs escape past his lips, and he cradles his arm, trying to keep it intact, trying to stop the bleeding. Tears roll down his cheeks and all he can do is cry and heave, his chest expanding and contracting harshly.

I toss the axe away, and it clatters to the ground somewhere nearby. My own chest heaves. Blood must have blood. He's a murderer, and he deserves everything he gets, if not worse.

I have basically sealed his fate. If he survives, he won't be killing anyone because his favoured hand will be no more.

"Fuck you," I spit. "You can rot in hell."

He looks up at me now, head heavy. His eyes are glassy; he pants like he's run a marathon and doesn't have anything to drink. "Charli," he groans, and I never, ever, want to hear my name spoken by him. His face is the same as it was all those years ago, just a bit older, much more tired. And now, as white as a sheet, his blood drained.

"Do not talk to me, do not say my name, do not come near me. Ever."

He groans.

"I said I would kill you if I ever saw you again, so consider yourself lucky you sick son of a bitch."

And just like that, I turn my back on him, only to face the ashen faces of Eva, Liam, Nina, and the other brother. I don't realise how much blood covers me until Nina promptly leans forward and vomits. Liam offers her some comfort by rubbing her back, but other than that, no one moves, no one speaks.

But there is one sound, a beep, which makes me whirl back around. He – King – lies on his back, having given up cradling his bleeding, almost non-existent arm. But in his good hand he holds a device, which looks a lot like a radio. Another beep emits from it, before he says, voice so weak and distant I'm surprised he hasn't passed out from shock or blood loss, "Do not shoot. Do not shoot. They are to be taken back alive."

If everything before wasn't a blur, it is now. I turn back around, ready to round everybody up. No, I do just that. Nina's unsteady on her feet, Liam can't stand to look at me, and his brother, whose name I really need to find out, is unsure whether he should be arming himself or if his gun should just stay in its holster.

Either way, the sound of footsteps, very many of them, sends us all into a panic. They only get closer, as does their shouting.

"Move!" I shout. I grab Liam's brother, shove Liam, and push Nina in the direction of the wall. They move in slow motion, even more so when the group of men appear – all armed and dangerous.

For a moment I've forgotten about Eva, and my heart leaps into my throat as she puts herself between us and them. She stands over King, arms raised in surrender. "Don't shoot!" she exclaims, her voice almost lost amongst the boots as they move down the road. "We need to help him! He's been attacked, he needs medical–"

Her voice hitches as the bullet pierces her chest; blood blooms from the exit point through her back. And from there, everything is chaos.

Eva hits the ground face first, and all that can be heard are her rattling, wet breaths as she tries to get oxygen into her lungs. Nina pulls on Liam's arm as he tries to break free and go to his sister; I have his brother's jacket in my grip, plus his arm, as I try to rein him in. They're both shouting for their sister, who doesn't move from where she's fallen.