NO PLACE LEFT TO RUN

NO PLACE LEFT TO RUN
Seth's POV

I didn't hesitate for a single second as I hurled chairs across the clinic lobby.

None of these useless people were giving me the information I needed. What the fuck was I thinking when I let that idiot go? I should have put a bullet through her head the moment I had the chance.

And now what? She was going to expose me? I’d rather watch us both end up in graves than let that happen.

I looked down at the clinic staff cowering on the floor, weeping and trembling in fear, and a bitter, hysterical laugh tore from my throat.

“Shut the fuck up if you don't want me to shut you all up permanently!” I screamed, a mix of pure frustration and creeping terror suffocating me. Everyone was turning against me.

First, it was that stupid cemetery bastard. Fuck! I couldn't believe he called the cops on me. I wanted to go back and put another bullet right through his skull.

“Fuck! Fuck you all!” Another ragged scream ripped from my chest. “I'm going to fucking kill every last one of you!”

Without thinking, I raised the gun and opened fire into the display glass. Shards exploded everywhere, earning another chorus of blood-curdling shrieks from the staff.

“Oh, Anna! I know you're in here!” I called out, forcing a deadly seriousness into my voice that barely hid the rage beneath. “You’d better show yourself right now, or things are going to get a whole lot uglier. I'm sure you don't want to watch all these innocent people get hurt.”

Nothing. Only heavy, suffocating silence.

She was taking me for a fool, and it set my blood on fire.

“You should know better by now than to test me!” I screamed, blinding fury clouding my mind.

Instinct took over. I aimed directly at one of the staff members and pulled the trigger without a second thought. The gunshot echoed deafeningly, followed immediately by the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor and fresh, frantic cries from the others.

I stared down at the lady I had just shot, watching her blood pool out and stain the pristine white marble floor.

It reminded me so much of the night I killed Alda's parents—and funny enough, I loved it.

A dark laugh tore from my lips before I raised the gun again, ready to take aim at another target.

“That's enough! That's enough, you monster!”

The voice I’d been waiting for finally cut through the chaos from behind me.

A sickening smile spread across my face. I turned to face her, the gun hanging loosely in my hand.

“Well, look who finally decided to join the party,” I purred, taking in the figure standing before me.

She looked ghastly—deathly pale in a thin hospital gown, her hair such a tangled mess she could have been mistaken for a patient straight out of a psychiatric ward.

“I'm here! It's me you want, so take me and leave them alone!” she screamed.

Her sudden boldness made me laugh, but in the next second, the smile vanished. It was instantly replaced by a wave of unadulterated, blinding rage.

“Exactly! You're the one I wanted!” I screamed, stepping toward her. “So why the fuck did you make me go through hell just to get to you?!”

Fear flickered in her eyes as she frantically backed away.

“Don't come near me! Don't come near me!” she screamed.

Her terror only fed my satisfaction. In no time at all, I had her cornered as her back hit the wall.

“There's nowhere left to run, is there?” I hissed directly into her face. “Which leaves me with one question I want you to answer: What the hell were you trying to pull in here? You thought you could pin the whole thing on me and play the victim? You’d better pick a side and stick to it!”

Before I could finish, she spat straight into my face.

“You disgust me!” she spat.

That was the last straw. I delivered a thundering slap across her face—not just once, but over and over again until blood smeared across her mouth and her knees buckled, sending her crumpling to the floor.

“Now that you know your place,” I muttered, reaching down to grab a handful of her hair, “why don't we finish this conversation outside?”

I dragged her screaming body across the floor, heading straight out of the clinic.

Troy's POV

I slammed the brakes a short distance away from Mike's clinic and scrambled out, sprinting toward the building.

I had just called the detective assigned to Alda’s case, and he was already on his way here. But as I reached the glass front, the sight through the transparent walls made my stomach drop in horror.

A staff member lay motionless in a pool of blood on the floor. Near the far wall, Seth had Anna cornered, raining violent blows down on her until she dropped.

I gasped in shock. This was a total disaster.

With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone and called the detective again, but he wasn't picking up.

I made a desperate move toward the entrance to go after Seth, but that was when I caught the glint of the gun in his hand. I pulled back instantly, crouching out of sight as he dragged a screaming, battered Anna toward his truck.

He was just about to pull into the driveway when a black sedan swerved violently in front of the building.

“Police! Put your weapon down and step away from the vehicle!” Detective Jason shouted over his megaphone.

Seth didn't hesitate—he immediately opened fire.

Before I could even process what was happening, Seth managed to shoot one of the officers standing beside Detective Jason, striking him right in the arm. In the chaos, Seth hopped into his car, slammed on the gas, and tore out into the night.

“Fuck!” Jason cursed, rushing over to the injured officer who was already on the ground, pressing down on his bleeding wound.

“Stay with him and call for backup! I'm going after him!” I heard Jason shout as I rushed toward him in a total panic, my hands clamped tight around my phone.

“I don't think this is a good idea! We already have a staff member lying in a pool of blood inside—we can't risk any more lives!” I cried out, terrified out of my mind.

“I am not letting him get away with four murders, an attempted murder, shooting an officer, and a kidnapping!” Jason barked, his face flushed with fury.

He threw open his driver-side door, ready to leave. Without thinking twice, I scrambled into the passenger seat beside him.

Securing my seatbelt, I braced myself as Jason slammed his foot on the accelerator, tearing off into the dark night to chase down Seth.