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“Son of a bitch.” Hunter takes off, ru
“Wait.” I sprint after him. “You can’t rush in there.”
I grab his arm only to be shoved away.
“Fuck off, Decker. You won’t stop me.” He barrels forward, approaching Luca, who spreads his feet and braces for impact.
“He’s right.” The Navy ninja blocks the path. “You know more about this shit than I do. You need to stay out here and call the shots. If you go in there, you’re dead.”
“I don’t care. Get out of my way.”
Hunt isn’t thinking. He’s reacting on fear, not tact.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Let me go instead.” I maneuver around them both. My life isn’t a loss. Not when I’m dead already. “I’ve got a plan.”
“What plan?” Luca defends against another one of Hunter’s attempts to barge past, whacking him in the throat. “You better not fuck this up.”
Hunt jackknifes, coughing and spluttering.
“I don’t have time to lay a blueprint.” I continue for the door and grip the handle. “You’re going to have to trust me.”
I pause, not waiting for permission, but still waiting for something. Anything.
I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing here. All I need is a thumbs up from Hunt to tell me I’m making the right decision. All I get is a deadly stare as he continues to cough up a lung.
“Go.” Luca juts his chin at me. “I’ll watch your back the best I can.”
The assurance doesn’t sound promising, but me and Navy boat have come a long way from his threats to murder me. All I can do is have faith as I yank the door wide and brace for the unknown.
“I’m unarmed.” I slide my gun along the cement floor. “I just want to talk.”
I raise my hands in the air, my pulse pounding behind my eyes while I take the first step into the light.
Adrenaline is rich in my veins, heightening my senses and clearing my mind. Problem is, I lied. I don’t have a plan. All I’ve got is the death wish I’ve clung to for too damn long, and the necessity to save Keira.
Her sobs ring in my ears, her heartache increasing with every inch I approach.
I don’t look at her. I can’t.
Those eyes will kill me. They’ll kill us all.
“Who the fuck are you?” Drake faces me, his tight neck-hold keeping Torian pointed toward the windows. “I said I wanted Hunter.”
“I’m more valuable than Hunt. I’m the guy who can help you make the right decisions to get you the position of power you want.”
He snickers. “You think I need your help?”
“Yes. I do.” I keep my hands at shoulder height and continue my slow pace forward. “You’re not going to get your happily ever after if you kill Torian.”
“And why is that?”
“I’ll show you.” Slowly, I lower my hands as two of his goons place me in their sights. “I don’t have a weapon. I’m reaching to get my cell.” I slide my fingers into my pocket and retrieve the device. “If you kill anyone else, Hunter won’t let you out of here alive. But if you listen to me, and nobody else gets hurt, I’ll tell you how you can get exactly what you want.”
“Put it away.” He repositions his choke hold, making Torian stumble backward. “You can go take a seat next to the rag doll on the floor.”
“Wait.” I dial a number, co
“Hang up the phone,” Drake snarls. “Turn it off.”
“Why don’t you take it instead?” I approach another step, leaving a desolate yard of space between us as I reach the device toward him. “Here. All you need to do is listen.”
Take the cell. Just inch forward and take the fucking cell.
“I’m losing patience,” he seethes. “Either take a seat or a bullet. Your choice.”
I raise my free hand in surrender. “Please. You’re making a mistake. Killing Torian is going to piss off a lot of people.”
“You’re pissing off a lot of people.” He swings his gun in my direction and pulls the trigger, the projectile skimming past my thigh. “That was a warning. The next one won’t be.”
“Okay. Let me do it for you.” I press the speaker button and pray to hear something other than a dial tone. But I don’t hear anything. Not even static. “Are you there?”
Silence reigns, the seconds ticking by while failure shadows every beat of my pulse.
“Decker?” Anissa’s dubious voice breaks the quiet. “Where are you?”
A rush of breath leaves my lungs and the slightest glimmer of relief takes its place. “I need you to tell me your name. I need you to say it like you made me recite it yesterday.”
Drake needs to know who she is without me prompting her. He has to believe she’s telling the truth.
“Decker,” she warns. “What’s going on?”
“Put down the phone. Drop it. Now.”
“Anissa, please,” I beg. “Just say it.”
“Drop the fucking phone or someone dies.”
Another heavy breath escapes, this one full of defeat.
If only Drake would take a step forward and move into the line of fire. If only I hadn’t fucked things up with Anissa and she trusted me enough to tell me what everyone needed to hear.
If only.
If. Fucking. Only.
I look past Drake and the cowards behind him, and finally meet Keira’s gaze. Those ocean blues are glassy as they plead back at me. She’s begging for help, and for once I can’t save her. I can’t do a fucking thing to protect her this time.
I’m sorry.
She can’t hear my thoughts, but I pray she understands my anguish over failing her. I don’t know what else to do. This is going to end in a shootout, and the odds aren’t in our favor.
“Okay.” I crouch, placing the cell on the cement before I straighten to my full height. Death lingers close. I can feel it. The icy chill of nothingness nips at my fingers, preparing me for the worst.
Drake returns his aim to Torian, his focus still on me. “I don’t know what your game is—”
“Decker, are you still there?” The strong, feminine voice rises from the ground. “I’m here. It’s Special Agent Anissa Fox of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
“Shut it off,” Drake roars. “Someone shut it off.”
“Decker?” she shouts. “Decker, answer me.”
A gray-haired man runs forward, his gun aimed on me. He sweeps the cell off the ground, one hand madly working on the buttons when a single pop rings out. I feel the bullet skitter past my shoulder, the impact, throwing old man silver backward, instantly penetrating skin, then bone, then brain. He falls to the floor, the crack of skull the last thing I hear before pop, pop, pops slice around me.
I run. I fucking sprint while gunshots whistle from outside.
I rush toward the men crouching to take aim, bypassing the threat of their weapons as I leap for Keira.
I take her to the ground, both of us sliding into Sarah while five more shots ring out. I cover them both the best I can, straddling body parts and chair legs. It’s a fucking mess as I cradle Keira’s head in my hands and feel the soft hum of her sobs.
The heavy slap of a lifeless body falls behind me.
I don’t know if it’s Torian. I don’t dare to look. The outcome is a double-edged sword when the only possibility of being with Keira is dependent on the death of her brother.
There’s another shot, another clap of death hitting the cement.
Then silence.
I can’t move. All I hear is ringing in my ears. All I feel is her life vibrating against my chest.
“They’re down,” Luca yells. “Hurry up and get out of there.”
Thumping footfalls approach as I lean on one elbow and remove Keira’s gag. “It’s okay. It’s over.”