“Help me! Help!” Victoria screams as Mickey drags her toward the van. She trips in the high heels as she tries to fight him.
Shock washes over Everleigh’s face as she pulls her cell phone out and slams the door shut.
Mickey’s booming voice calls Victoria every curse word under the sun. “You thought you could fucking cheat on me? After everything we’ve been through?”
“Let me go,” she demands with a shriek.
“You stupid whore. You’re going to pay for this.” She slips again, but he continues to jerk her around like a caveman who’s come to claim his woman. Victoria gains her footing and reaches for Mickey’s gun. Somehow, she gets a hold of it, and when he tries to take it back, it’s too late. Shots ring out and Mickey tumbles to the ground. As if she’s making sure he’s dead, she puts another bullet in his temple. My heart nearly stops at what I just witnessed, but there’s no time to react because Eric exits the car with his gun drawn and moves toward her.
I’m still as I watch him move closer, pointing the barrel at her. “This is for Amara,” he roars. She doesn’t notice him until he speaks, but she’s not fast enough to recognize what’s happening. A shot pierces her arm that’s holding the weapon. Metal crashes to the ground as Eric takes another shot, then another. She falls and doesn’t move. I see blood pooling next to Mickey’s body and am frozen in shock.
Eric looks over her for a few seconds, puts her fingerprints on the gun before dropping it next to her, then hurries back to the car. Not wasting any time, we zoom down the road and end up outside the pub.
“Wanna get a drink?” he asks nonchalantly.
“Are you serious?” I don’t even know what the fuck just happened, and my brain is trying to catch up. I’ve seen some crazy shit, but that takes the cake.
Eric gets out, then heads inside. Not knowing what else to do, I follow him. Once I’m next to him, I flash him a glare as my body buzzing from adrenaline. He’s not fazed by my shell-shock expression and orders a shot of tequila.
“What the fuck just happened?” I whisper when he downs it and orders another.
He peels off his gloves and tucks them inside his jacket pockets. “It’s over,” he says in the calmest voice ever. “It’s finally over, Ty.”
After twenty minutes, my phone buzzes with frantic text messages from Everleigh.
Everleigh: Where are you?
Everleigh: I need you to come home. I’m so fucking scared. There was a shooting on the street outside of the house. It’s all blocked off, and I had to give a statement to the police of what I witnessed.
Tyler: I’m at the pub. I’m heading home now.
“We’ve gotta go,” I tell Eric, and he nods after he signs the credit card receipt. Since the road is closed, we decide to walk home, and my heart is hammering in my chest the entire way.
“Want to explain some things to me?” I finally turn to him as I see the ambulance lights in the distance.
“The gun was one of Victoria’s and had her fingerprints all over it. Chris, her bodyguard gave it to me. From what I can tell, what happened out there was nothing more than a lovers’ spat.”
“You called Mickey Landry?” I’m putting the pieces together.
“I just called a few people who could get the word back to him. He’s a jealous man, so I knew he’d lose his shit.” Eric shrugs. “She got what she deserved.”
When we walk up the sidewalk, Everleigh runs over and wraps her arms around me. She’s shaking like a leaf, she’s so frightened.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She nods. “There was a fight, and this couple ended up shooting each other. I thought this was a good neighborhood,” she says, and tears spill down her cheek.
I let out a cool breath, realizing she never mentioned another person. She never saw Eric. “Wow.”
“I already gave my statement,” she tells me. “No one else heard anything. It was crazy and is no doubt gonna be the talk of the town tomorrow.” She buries her head in my chest.
“You should go inside and have a glass of wine.”
Everleigh nods and does what I say. I look at the street and see three covered bodies. What a traumatic fucking experience for my sweet little sister to have to witness. Before we go inside, I turn to Eric. “Why did we go to the pub?”
“For an airtight alibi. I did some research on the sheriff and learned he was lazy as hell. There won’t be a proper investigation, forensics, or any of the shit we do in the city. Lovers’ quarrel that ended poorly. The ultimate Romeo and Juliet story.” He smiles, and we go inside.