Nellie cowered behind his back, venom glittering in her eyes, silently willing the bullet to fly.
I stared down the barrel without blinking.
I knew Dennis better than anyone.
Greedy. Selfish. But underneath all that bluster, he was a coward to the bone.
He would never pull that trigger. He was too afraid of dying, too afraid of losing everything he'd stolen.
"Go ahead. Shoot."
I stepped forward and pressed my forehead against the cold steel of the muzzle.
"Pull the trigger, Dennis. I dare you." My voice was steady, quiet, absolute. "The second my heart stops, this ledger lands on a federal agent's desk. I guarantee it."
Dennis's hand shook violently. Beads of cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
His teeth were clenched so hard his jaw trembled, his eyes flooded with conflict and raw terror.
"Margot, don't push me like this... We loved each other once. Why do you have to take it this far?"
He was still trying to soften me. His voice dripped with a plea so pathetic it turned my stomach.
"Loved each other?"
What an absurd choice of words.
The old wound in my abdomen throbbed, stirred awake by the surge of emotion.