“Don’t cry.” He wipes the drop away with a brush of his thumb. “He doesn’t deserve your tears. And we don’t need to leave either. I’ve got everything all worked out.”
I let him hold me, and for a moment I allow myself to feel safe in his arms for the last time before I start gathering power into my body.
“What are we going to do?” I force my voice to take on a solid, bright quality. Nothing like I feel inside.
Cooper’s bright smile lights up his face, and he appears almost child-like again in his joy. “You are going to kill Charade.”
“What?” I choke.
A dreamy look takes over his face. He clasps my hands, tugging me to him. I should feel warmth in them. In him. But all I feel is cold.
“It’s perfect in its simplicity.” He grins. “End Charade once and for all, and all will be forgiven. Vanall will clear your name. Hell, he’ll be so happy I’d be surprised if he didn’t throw a parade in your honor.”
Cooper’s hip hits the tray of torture devices when I push him away. There’s a clatter as something heavy-sounding hits the cement at our feet.
“I don’t want a parade, Cooper.” I seethe. “I want my brother not to be the psychotic kingpin responsible for poisoning our city.”
“Don’t make me do this, Kaye. And for what? Him? He could have killed you. It’s bad enough he destroyed everything you are. Broke you like a man in an old children’s rhyme. I stitched you back together.I did.But I guess that doesn’t mean anything. You get a little dick and suddenly you’re Charade’s whore for life? Is that it?”
My vision goes red. His head snaps back with the force of my blow.SLAP.
For a second, the only sound to be heard is the agitated huff of my labored breath, and the distant moans of Cooper’s “patients.”
“How dare you?” I gesture to the lab around us, to my one-time rescuer strapped in his chair. “You have no right to judge me or anyone else. You’re not God.”
Click.Cooper turns back with a handgun in his fist, cocked and presumably loaded. The skin on the left side of his face shines a satisfying pink, but it’s impossible to enjoy that momentwith the trill of fear shooting down my spine. My hands raise automatically, though in the end the barrel doesn’t point in my direction.
“I’m done playing nice,” he hisses, spittle flying from his mouth. The corner of his lip has torn, a small bead of blood welling up at the motion. “So I’ll put it this way: either you kill him, Kitty, or I will.”
I jump as something lightly brushes my thumb. Then I look down and see Zane’s pleading eyes, and allow the contact. Just this once.
Do it, Kaye. Please.Zane’s smooth timbre sounds in my mind, rich and warm, unaffected by the tortures his body endured. It calls to me like a siren song, but I don’t detect any threads of his power within it. This message is for me, and me alone.He’ll draw it out, make it as painful as he can before he lets me go. With you, it’ll be just like falling asleep.
I can’t.
It’s as though the essence of him is rubbing against my mind. I can smell the spice of his body wash, feel the stubble of his chin against mine. His breath whispering against my ear.Please, Kaye, let me do this. After what I did… this is how I can make it right. You need to live to fight another day.
Zane…
You’ll never know how truly sorry I am. How grateful I am to have gotten to know you, love you. I wish I had been worthy of your trust. Your love. It’s my biggest regret in this life, Kaye.
“Don’t touch her.”
The contact breaks, and he’s gone from my mind. I glance at Cooper, waiting. The conversation must have only taken a couple of seconds.
“I’ll do it.” I lock eyes with Zane’s and an almost-peace passes over his face. There’s so much that could go wrong, and even if everything goes according to plan we could still end up at thebusiness-end of Cooper’s semi-automatic. It would be worth it, dying a hero’s death.
It’s effortless to gather my power to me, light in a way that it never has been before. It felt so out of touch before, but with Cooper’s serum coursing through my veins, I am unstoppable. A battery charged all on my own.
New light pricks at the deep wells of my pupils. I’m amazed to find that it’s coming from me, my body—palm, specifically. I have to squint my eyes against the brightness as I bring it to my face for a closer look. An intense heat builds under the skin, licking along my nerve endings without ever fully touching them. This, I know, is true destructive power.
“You might want to take a step back,” I warn. Away from Zane.
Shadows move in the dark pits of Cooper’s eyes, a hardness that I’ll never be able to un-see. “I’m just fine where I am, thank you. Say goodbye, Zane.”
I keep the power focused in my hands, both palms now glowing with furious golden light, the heat so penetrating that my fingers are beginning to feel cold instead. This is it. I can’t hold on any longer.
“I’ll see you in hell.” Zane’s eyes close against the blaze.
