Primal Pursuit - Page 175

“Well, Rabbit?” He cocks his head, and I’m struck byhow terrible it is that a man as dark souled as him has that face, that touch. That mind.

“Make this easy,” I murmur shakily.

“Not on your fucking life.”

“You’re an asshole.”

He ignores that. “As I said, this is your moment of truth. Fulfill your fantasies. Your uncle. Your gun, Rabbit. Your choice.”

I keep the gun on him. I know if I shift it without pulling the trigger, that’s it. I’ll never be able to do it. Never be able to kill Davian.

I swallow over the lump that burns big and ugly in my throat.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “Just fucking kill him. Then you can shoot the fuck out of me.”

“Davian!” I scream his name.

And this time, he moves his gun from my uncle and points it at me. “If you don’t fucking kill him, I’ll do it. And then maybe you for being such a goddamn pussy, Rabbit,” he grits out.

“Davian, don’t?—”

“You’re not just prey, Poppy. You’re a fucking hunter, too. It’s why I like you so fucking much. Why you’re mine. But, darling rabbit, shoot him or I will. I hate his kind. For what he did to you. What he represents. I’ll shoot him, but I think you should.”

“And if I can’t?”

Davian smiles his cold, deadly grin. “You can. You’re the other side of me.”

“W-what does that mean?” My gun is still shaking, and there’s a terrible roaring in my ears.

“It means you can do this. Kill him, even kill me. You can do this and walk away and live your fucking life and never touch a gun again. I can’t. I’m not made for your life. I’m too steeped in this. I love it. I’m a fucking monster. Irredeemable. Shoot him, Poppy, and then you fucking shoot me.”

Coward. He just decided. He’s walking away from me either way. Dead or alive, I’ve lost him.

I scream. It tears out of my soul and slices up my throat.

I swing the gun, aim, pull the trigger, and shoot my uncle in the face. With eyes filled with tears that I blink away, I watch him stagger back and fall to the floor.

I scream again and swing back to point the gun at Davian.

He’s still grinning.

It’s one of death, that grin.

And it destroys my heart.

He’s chosen a fate. For me.

To get out of his.

“So.” This time, my gun’s steady. His is still pointed at me while I point mine at him. “I should shoot you now. Kill you. Is that it?”

“Isn’t that your plan? What you wanted all along?”

“Yes.” I spit the word at him. Hurl it with all my might. “What now? Do we kill each other?”

“I don’t want to kill you, Rabbit,” he says, and I despise the tenderness in his voice.

“So, I kill you, then?”