Unstable

Weakly. I saw red, and her pulse quickened under my fingertips. I watched her face contort as I tightened my grip on my throat. Veronica let out a choking sound, her pink lips taking on a blue tint. Through all of this, she did not attempt to stop me.

Perhaps she wanted to die.

“Eli, don't,” Janna said, her voice shaking. “You aren't a killer.”

Veronica chuckled, but it sounded wrong. Because I was still in the procress of crushing her windpipe. But, to my horror, I let her go. She stumbled away from me, coughing, and I thought she was going to come after me. She didn't. Instead, she looked afraid, her eyes wide.

Then she smiled, her lips slowly returning to their natural color. “I knew you couldn't do it.”

I stepped back, dragging a hand down my face. Blood coated my fingers. I looked back at Janna, who was bound at the wrists, her eyes narrowed. I sat next to her, but my eyes never left Veronica, who was sitting with her back against the wall, still trying to catch her breath.

I took Janna's hand. “Are you all right?” I asked.

“Colin's dead,” she replied weakly. “Didn't you see him?”

I looked in the direction of her gaze—Colin's body looked crumpled where he lay, blood pooling around the wound in his head. His eyes stared, unblinkingly, slowly clouding over.

“Eli,” Janna whispered, “Carly's here too. She's in the basement.”

Jesus.

“Where's the gun?” Janna wondered.

“What gun?” I asked, staring at her scared face.

There was a click, then something was shoved against my jaw. “This one.”