Chapter 52
Dermos’s POV
The barrel of Valerio’s gun didn’t shake a bit.
Not even the slightest.
It was steady, pointing straight at the space between my eyes.
For a man his age, that was more than impressive.
“Stand down,” he said lazily, tilting his head as though he were saying something funny. “You’re bleeding on my grass,” he added casually.
I remained frozen where I was lying with one foot pressing into the dirt.
My shoulder burned where the bullet had grazed me earlier, and I put a hand over it to hold it down a bit.
From the corner of my eye, I could spot Ariel; she was a few feet away from where we were.
She crouched where she was, frozen with her eyes wide from fear.
Valerio smirked down at me, licking his lips like I was some meal.
“You see?” He started slowly. “This
