Ruthless threats

"Shoot him. Shoot," my father orders, but the men are not stupid. They know they are terribly outnumbered. They lower their weapons and join the others coming out of the chapel.

My father stands alone at the entrance to the church with Revean as his only bargaining chip. I don't know where Andrew is , but he is somewhere in the chapel. Mery walks away to my left, her gun pointed at my father. The man to my right does the same until he reaches the priest. He glances at him as he watches my father walk farther and farther away until he reaches the altar. The cross on it falls to the ground with a clatter.

"An omen." I smile as a shot rings out.

Andrew hits my father in the shoulder, on the side holding the gun. He can no longer grip the gun, which means it's my turn to pounce. I'm on him in an instant.

My punches rain down on his face and I hear his nose break. I let years of pent-up anger flow from my body in revenge. But that's not how he's going to die. No. Not yet. Standing up, I turn to check on Revean as Andrew continues to point his gun at my father, making sure he doesn't try to move.

"Are you okay, Revean?". I ask as Mery holds her in her arms.

"I thought you were dead," Revean cries . "He told me I was his."

"You were never his. You've always been mine." I bring Revean into my arms. "Mery , he shot you. You have to fire the first bullet."

"The second," she retorts. "I think Andrew has already put his bullet in as payback for shooting me."

"Too bad I couldn't hit him in the groin," Andrew growls . He's furious at my father for hurting the woman he loves.

Mery approaches my father. "You've always treated me like a punching bag, an inferior woman. You're no different from the man I had the misfortune to call father. And now you're about to end up in the same place he did. Rotting with the worms."

My father pleads for his life, but it falls on deaf ears. Mery shoots him in the leg, and he screams in pain. She then stands to my father's left, mirroring Andrew's position on the right.

I nod to the guy tending to the priest. "You should probably take him outside for this one." I step forward.

"Wait." Revean taps me on the shoulder. "It's my turn. I have to do something for my father and mother. Avenge what he did to them."

"Are you sure?" I check. "Shooting someone isn't easy."

She nods vehemently.

"I have to. I need to be able to get over the childhood I suffered because of his actions."

I hand Revean my gun, quickly showing her how it works as my father tries to walk away from us.

"If I shoot him in the heart, will he die?"

I shake my head. "Not instantly. A head shot is the only way to go. Mind you, if you aim for his chest, it won't hurt him much, since he doesn't have a heart."

"Not like you." Revean places her free hand over my heart.

I lean toward her and kiss her before she turns and points the gun at my father. I pull away and give her this moment. She needs closure.

"I hope you burn in hell," she spits as she fires and the bullet rips through my father's chest.

I know she doesn't have much time left, so I take the gun from her and she stands beside me as I point it at my father's head.

"I feel sorry for you. Power has corrupted you and you've lost everything good you had: my mother, your friends and now you've lost me. Go to hell, father." I pull the trigger and the bullet lodges in my father's brain. It kills him instantly.

No last words, nothing. Just his death. Finally it's all over.

Vicente and his men burst in, but he lowers his gun at the sight of my father's corpse.

"Take it," I order, pointing to the body. "Show them all that my father's reign has come to an end. Revean and I are in charge now."

He nods and we all watch as they unceremoniously carry my father out of the church. I know they will desecrate his body, that they will strip him naked and urinate on him, that they will do with his corpse any degrading act, but I don't care. He deserves it. I don't want to see him again. I will not bury him. He can rot in the desert for the vultures to peck at.

The fight over, I go to put my gun back in its holster. But Revean grabs it and points it straight at the priest.

"Woah, what are you doing?" I protest, hands outstretched in front of me and making no quick moves.

"Marry us." She waves the gun at the priest. "I was never married to your father. I did not give my consent." She looks at me for reassurance.

"Do it," I order her.

Andrew grabs the priest and, pulling him to his feet, says, "Unless you want to get shot in the other foot, I suggest you do as you're asked."

"I don't have the papers," the priest protests.

"I'll arrange that later," I inform him. "Revean wants me as her husband now. And you are going to give it to him."

The priest no longer protests. Revean and I stand side by side at the front of the chapel as our vows are read. When it comes time to sign the marriage certificates, the page recording her forced marriage to my father is destroyed and, instead of a cross, she signs her name with a flourish. Her father's name is proudly written in the space provided, but where my father's name should be, my mother's name appears. It's not a traditional wedding, and I know we'll probably have to redo it later. Right now it's more symbolic than anything else.