Page 112 of Allegiant

I blink in confusion. “What? I didn’t kill Adam. What are you talking about?”

“Don’t lie to me,” she shouts, spittle flying. “I know, Rowan. You were the last one to see him, and the only person with a motive.”

“What motive?” Am I dreaming right now? Is this all a hallucination? I was never as close to Adi as I was to Adam, but we were friends. I thought the only reason I hadn’t heard from her these past few months was the same one stopping me from reaching out to her—that we couldn’t stand the reminder. “Adam was my best friend. I loved him.”

“Exactly,” she shouts. “You loved him, and he didn’t return your feelings. That’s why you killed him. It all makes total sense.”

The gun is trembling against my temple from how much she’s shaking. Despite everything, pity fills me. Adam would be heartbroken if he could see the state she’s in. “Adi, I swear, I didn’t kill Adam. Yes, I loved him, but like a friend. I wasn’t the one who murdered him.”

“You did,” she yells, the gun shaking harder. “It was you. It has to be you. You took him from me. Don’t fucking lie to me!”

“I didn’t.” I choke out a sob. I know it’s my fault that he died, but I’m starting to believe Samson when he tells me to stop blaming myself. “I promise. I would never. I miss him too, terribly. Like I can’t breathe most days, but killing me isn’t going to bring him back.”

“It’s not,” she says sadly. She squares her stance, lifting her chin decisively. “But knowing his murderer is dead will finally let me sleep at night.”

Oh god. She’s really going to do it. She’s lost it. She really believes I’m capable of it. I’m to blame. I know that. I should never have left him that night. I’ll carry that guilt to my grave.

Which, evidently, I’ll be finding sooner than I thought.

At least I’m going to die here, in the place I love most. The one that gave me the most joy and happiness.

Feels fitting, really.

Her finger falls onto the trigger, but then a shadow parts from the wall. Silver glints in the dim light as it rests against her neck. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Samson.

Adi freezes, fear in her eyes for the first time. Blood appears in a line along her throat, and I choke on my own shock. “Samson, you’re hurting her. Let her go.”

“Not until she lowers the gun.”

“Adi, please,” I whisper.

Her eyes dart around, like she’s waiting for her own savior to leap out of the shadows. But no one comes. Adam is gone.

Tears well up in my eyes as I take the scene in once more. Oh god, how did we end up here? How did it all come to this?

Samson’s jaw works as he stares into my face. When he speaks, his words are not for me, but Adi. “Adam wasn’t killed by Rowan. He was murdered by his stalker, Scott Johnson.”

The room tilts. What the fuck? How does Samson know this?

More importantly, why the hell is he only telling me now?

“That’s not true,” Adi whispers. “Adam wasn’t being stalked. I would’ve known.”

“He didn’t tell you because he didn’t want to scare you,” I say numbly. “He knew you’d worry, that you’d fly out to be with him, and he didn’t want that.”

The gun falls several inches, but Samson’s dagger doesn’t move.

“Why should I believe you?” Adi demands, her voice shaking as much as her hands. “How would you even know this?”

Samson doesn’t look away from me, but I swear there’s an apology in his eyes. Like he’s already regretting the words that are going to come out of his mouth.

“Because I work for The Firm. Our family, the Buckinghams, we’re the ones behind it.”

There’s an odd rushing noise in my ears. Like a wave that’s about to break, destroying everything in its path. I sway slightly, the room narrowing before bursting back to size.

“No,” I breathe. “No fucking way. No.”