GUILTY (Gabe's Trials)

Sinners and saints

"I thought she would, Marco. Why would I lie to you?" The sound of breaking glass made me slightly jump backwards. And then a woman's pathetic gasps for air made me close my eyes tightly. 

"I don't know, Mei. Why would you come looking for me? Why would you plot with me against your dearest Gabriel? Why would you help me get here? Why?" My breath hitched and for a moment there, I could've sworn that they'd heard me and that Marco was going to come for me, but nothing happened. Instead of that, after what seemed like forever, Mei spoke again.

"I... Want her... Dead." She sounded exhausted and out of breath and I had to strain my ears only to be able to hear her, but then Marco's harsh laugh covered her small voice, a loud thud telling me that he'd had her pinned to the wall and that only now did he let her go. 

"What we do for love..." His words drifted to my ears, making me cringe, my chest tightening. To Marco I may have been nothing more than collateral damage, but to Mei, I was the woman who'd stolen the heart of the man she loved. "Well, what should I do with you now?" Swallowing hard, I realised that there was only one answer to that question. Mei had failed him and now Marco was going to kill her. And then, here I was, listening to the door and holding a freaking gun. I had the power to save the bitch who, by her own admission, wanted me dead and also did everything in her powers to get her wish to come true. Was I going to save her? Of course I was, because I was just that big of an idiot. 

Dropping my bag onto the floor, no longer frightened by the fact that the one man I feared the most was going to hear me, I pushed the door open, forcing my hands to remain steady as I aimed the Colt at the back of Marco's head. Because I was going for a quick death indeed. I couldn't afford to take any risks on this. 

The man slowly turned around, facing me, the huge smile he was sporting, making me swallow hard. That wasn't the smile of a man whose death was near.  

"Ms Groves, just the person I wanted to see. Or do you go by Mrs Shaffer now?" A cold chill went down my spine, making a brand new sheen of sweat cover my trembling limbs. "Are you gonna use that?" A desperate sound finally went past the lump in my throat, my own two eyes widening in surprise at the unexpected reaction of my body. "I didn't think so either." Taking a cautious step forward, the man gave me a triumfant smile. "That's not a toy, judge. You might wanna drop it before you do something you'll regret." A surge of adrenaline finally gave me my voice back, my hands flexing on the gun. 

"The only thing I regret is not poking your eye out for good." Swallowing hard, as if to maintain his composure, Marco took another step towards me. 

"You came close enough, do trust me. Now, if you're gonna pull that damned trigger, you better pull it now, because the moment I get my hands on you, I'm finally gonna finish what I started." My mouth went dry, Gabriel's words coming back to mind. Never point the gun at someone unless you're going to shoot that person down. It was the time I took his fucking advice. It should've been easy enough, especially considering who the person standing at the other end of my Colt was. Marco deserved to die, and I'd spent too much of my time planning my revenge on him to just let him live now. 

So, holding my breath and forcing my hands to remain steady, I finally did what had to be done. I pulled the trigger, preparing myself for the deafening sound of the bullet leaving the barrel of my gun. That sound never came, an empty, sickening clicking sound replacing it though. My barrel was empty. 

Marco's distant, unamused laugh made me snap my head up to look at the man prepared to launch at me, his entire body tense, the look on his face murderous. And then it happened. In one large stride he was standing right in front of me, his eyes scanning my face, his lips forming a superior smirk.