“You have experience in self-defense?”
I lifted my bandaged hand, then set it back down in my lap. “I teach classes at Razor’s Edge, both yoga and self-defense. I started after Trenton left. More of my things went missing, and I just had this… creepy feeling, like someone was watching me.” I’d never felt more unsafe, and I’d lived with a family of hitmen in my previous life.
“And tonight, you were able to stop Mr. Blake from shooting you?”
A warm breeze swept down the street and my hair lifted off my shoulders, blowing strands into my face as if someone were behind me. But whatever presence was there wasn’t threatening, just like the voice I’d heard in my head in my bedroom.
You have to save him. Don’t let him get hurt.
“I was able to get close to Steve, to get between Trenton and the gun. I got a hand on him before he got off his first shot. But he tried to pull it away. I tried to hold on, but I burned my hand and let go. And it…” I wiped a tear from my cheek. “And it went off again and hit him in the chest.”
More tears fell, and there was no stopping them. Steve had always been a nice guy. He might have done a horrible thing, but I still felt the loss of him. And I couldn’t help but think how much worse it could have turned out.
If that first bullet had hit just a little more to the left.
If I hadn’t been able to get between Trenton and Steve.
If I hadn’t grabbed the hot barrel and burned my hand again, making me let go a split second before the gun went off.
The detective waited as I tried to wipe my tears, then he asked, “Is there anything else you remember?”
“He said—” My throat clenched shut and I had to swallow hard in order to speak. “He said, ‘Tell John I’m sorry’.”
More tears blurred my vision and I tried to blink them away.
“Mysti!” Trenton’s arms wrapped around me, and I gripped him tight. “It’s okay, love. It’s okay.”
Detective Godwin took a small step back. “I’ll let you get back to your night. But I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you, Detective,” Trenton said, extending his hand toward him. “We appreciate your help.”
After he’d walked away, Trenton combed his fingers through my hair, pressing light kisses to my head while rocking me back and forth. But it wasn’t long before we were interrupted again. Footsteps pounded on the pavement, and when I looked up, I found Miller and Carson running our way.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” My friend didn’t pause to let me answer. He pulled me out of Trenton’s grip and wrapped me in a hug.
“Sorry,” Carson murmured at our side. “I told him to play it cool, but you know Miller.”
“Don’t even.” Miller turned on Carson, a scowl on his handsome face. But the scowl melted away when Carson reached up and wiped away a tear from his cheek.
“Hey, it’s okay. They’re both alright.” Carson pulled his boyfriend into a hug, giving Trenton the chance to steal me back and hold me tight.
“We’re okay, sweetie,” I tried to tell him. “Nothing that won’t heal.”
Trenton gave me a look, one full of concern and trust and love. As if, with that look, he was telling me we would be okay. Even if it took a while, even if the emotional scars from tonight, from me killing a man, would never fully go away. I held him tighter, needing the constant support he’d given me since the day I fell into his life.
“When Trenton called,” Miller said, pulling away from Carson’s shoulder and turning back to me, “I thought for sure—”
“Mysti? Trenton?” Before Miller could finish, Callie came racing up with Calvin not far behind. My friend damn near tackled me off the stretcher, and I’m sure I would have tumbled off had it not been for Trenton holding on to me. “Are you two okay?”
“We’re fine, sweetie,” I soothed. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
We told our friends what happened, and the details never got easier. Each time I thought about Steve, I couldn’t help but see the look on his face as the light slowly faded from his eyes. His last words about his brother tore into me, because I couldn’t imagine the pain the man would go through when he found out his brother was gone.
“Where are you going to stay?” Callie asked, looking over my shoulder at the men carrying a stretcher out of my front door. “Surely you can’t stay here.”
“You can stay with us.” Miller grabbed Carson’s hand and looked up at him. “You don’t mind, do you, babe?”
Carson shook his head, but before he could speak, Callie interrupted, “Babe? Do you mean…?”