By the fourth day, my fingers were itching for something to do. With Boyd out of the house, I headed to the shooting range.
It had been days since I'd held a gun, and my hands were rusty. I'd barely squeezed off a few rounds when a coy little voice piped up beside me.
"Miss Winfield, what a lovely mood you must be in, finding time to practice your aim."
"I heard you used to be the princess of the Black Tiger Syndicate. So how is it that you're content being someone's caged bird now, clinging to a man who doesn't want you?"
"If your late father could see you, I wonder how disappointed he'd be."
I lowered the gun and turned to face Gail.
Her expression was pure provocation, not a trace of the timid act she'd put on the other day. Her performance skills were impressive, I had to give her that.
I pulled off my safety glasses and studied the woman in front of me through narrowed eyes. After a moment, I let out a dry laugh.
"You were there that day. You heard him. He's the one who won't let me leave."
"So who's really clinging to whom, Miss Walter? Can you truly not tell?"
A flash of humiliation crossed Gail's face, but she clenched her jaw and forced the words out, one by one.
"Once the baby in my belly is born, what will you possibly have left to compete with me?"
"The great princess of the Black Tiger Syndicate, feared across the underworld, reduced to a little caged bird." A vicious smile curled her lips. "Your father is probably rolling in his grave."
What cut her off was my palm cracking across her face.
The slap sent Gail staggering. When she lifted her head again, her eyes were full of venom.
But before she could get a word out, a voice erupted behind us, thick with fury.
"Faith! What the hell are you doing!"
The instant she heard Boyd's voice, Gail's expression transformed into something pitiful and wounded.
"I'm sorry, Miss Winfield. I only came to explain things to you. I didn't want you and Boyd fighting because of me again."
"I grew up without parents. Boyd just feels sorry for me, that's all. There's really nothing between us. It's not what you think."
Boyd's gaze slid to the red, swollen mark on Gail's cheek. His eyes were ice.
"Faith, I told you she's pregnant."
"How could you hit her?"
My answer was the gun rising in my hand.
Bang.
The bullet grazed Gail's arm with surgical precision.
Blood poured instantly.
I lowered my wrist and regarded the two of them with cold eyes.
"That shot I didn't take last time? Consider it returned."
"Boyd, keep your dog on a leash. Next time, the bullet goes between her eyes."
Boyd swept Gail up into his arms. When he looked at me, his eyes were bloodshot, barely containing a rage that seemed ready to detonate.
A long silence passed before he ground the words out through clenched teeth.
"Today was Gail's fault. She shouldn't have come to bother you."
"You're even now."
With that, he didn't spare me another glance. He turned and walked away, carrying Gail.
I don't know if Boyd did it on purpose.
As he passed me, his shoulder slammed into mine.
I wasn't braced for it. The force knocked me off my feet, and the small of my back crashed into the edge of the shooting bench.
Blinding pain exploded through my body, radiating from my lower back in waves so intense I couldn't breathe.
Behind me, my bodyguard's panicked shout cut through the ringing in my ears.
"Miss Winfield! You're bleeding!"
I looked down, numb, and stared at the crimson spreading beneath me. Red, everywhere. The sharp, metallic smell of blood filled my nose.
My legs gave out. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness.
When I woke, I was in a hospital.
The nurse changing my IV bag hurried out and returned with the doctor.
His eyes were full of regret.
"It was already seven weeks along."
