It’s my stepfather.
Dark memories resurface as I stand, grabbing the gun and slowly pointing it at him. His expression, smirking and arrogant, hasn’t changed. Even as he stares death in the face, he smiles. He raises his hands in front of him.
“Now, this—just became very interesting.”
I glare at him, tightly clenching the gun. A battle wages in my mind—kill him or let someone else take care of him. Every muscle in my body wants to be the one to punish him. Thoughts of the revolution flee as I focus on the pain he inflicted upon me and my family.
“You’re sick.” My hands and voice quiver with rage as I stare down the monster. “I get it. I get all of it. The Hole is just your life-sized closet that you think you can control.” In the moment of decision, I teeter on uncertainty for a second too long.
He turns, hopping over a desk and toppling some equipment. He almost makes it out but slams into Cole in the doorway. Both of them recoil into heaps on the floor.
“Get him!” I scream.
Cole, unfazed, punches him several times. My stepfather returns the favor, and I run, tripping to where they wrestle.
Holding the gun, I aim for my stepfather, but they roll back and forth, trading positions of dominance. I don’t want to hurt Cole, but as they exchange punches, a flicker of light catches my eye. My stepfather pulls a knife out of his boot, giving me no other option.
I pull the stiff trigger, hitting him in the shoulder, and his blade clatters across the floor. Cole grabs it, stands, and kicks him in the stomach.
“Again! Now! Lexi, shoot him, damn it!” he shouts.
Still holding my gun, I shake my head.
“Shoot him!” Cole yells at the top of his lungs.
The commander backs himself into the wall, looking defeated and holding his gushing shoulder.
I’ve waited years to see him like this. He took everything away from me. He’s taken so much away from so many others. But I won’t sink to his level.
I glare into his eyes. “You’ll get what you deserve. I’ve had enough of your filth on me and I don’t want your blood on my hands,” I say. “My father was twice the man you’ll ever be, but one day justice will be served and the lethal liquid will run through your veins. The best part? You won’t see my father because you’re going to hell.”
His breaths are raspy, his hands stained crimson.
I see fear in his eyes for the first time. And it satisfies me.
Just then, Bruno and his team bound into the room. Their faces are clouded with dust, smelling like sweat and lead. Half of them attend to Sutton and Keegan, promptly evacuating Sutton, and the rest surround my stepfather, the commander.
“Lexi, get out of here. We’ll take it from here,” Bruno says.
But I stayed glued in place as Cole lowers my gun for me. “That bastard. He’s mine.” He pries the gun from my fingers and holds it steady, aiming it directly at my stepfather’s head. “I’ve waited a long time for this moment and now it’s finally here. Now tell me. What’s it feel like knowing you’re about to die?”
My stepfather arches his eyebrow, giving Cole a look of disgust and scorn. “I’m not sure we’ve ever met, but it seems as if you’ve forgotten your duty.”
“Oh I know my duty all right.” Cole’s eyes flash with dark fury. “My duty is to protect those who can’t protect themselves. Something you know nothing about.” Cole moves closer to him. “See, your form of torture—it’s all about control and trying to break people of their sanity. All the while, you’re the one who’s insane. I know what you did to her, and I’m going to make sure you can never hurt Lexi again. Ever. I made a promise to her—I promised I would kill the sick bastard who did those things to her. And it just so happens… it’s you.”
My stepfather’s face blanches with the loss of blood. He cackles at Cole as he leans against the wall and holds his shoulder where the red liquid flows from his wound down to his forearm and drip, drip, drips onto the floor.
“Go ahead. Shoot me. Just make sure you watch your back. My men will avenge me. And that’s a promise.” His breaths sound ragged between words and yet he still manages to scoff at Cole. At me.
“Don’t,” I say, putting my hand on Cole’s tensed arm. “He’s not worth it. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” my stepfather says with his wicked smile. “I’ll always be in your nightmares.”
With those words, Cole fires the gun.
My stepfather’s body jerks with the dull thud of the bullet entering his forehead. Blood and brain spatter the wall behind him, immediately making me feel nauseous. His heavy body crumples to the floor, lifeless at our feet. Everyone stares in shock, unable to tear their eyes away from the once great commander who now lies in a pitiful lump, bleeding out like an animal.