Page 151 of A Wild Darkness

“Unfortunately, I don’t believe you. And since I’m the one with the gun, what I say is reality,” he replies coldly. “Now, she is coming with me.”

Sebastian’s arm comes out from behind him, pushing me to stay in his shadow. “That’s not going to happen.”

Silas chuckles an eerie laugh. The sound vibrates through my bones, penetrating me with fear. “Unless you both want to die right now?”

Sebastian lifts the other hand in front of him. “This has nothing to do with her. This is all about us. We are the monsters here, Silas, not Stevie.”

“And how do you figure that?” he counters, the gun shaking in his hand. “I saw her kill a man before my eyes! As a killer myself, I recognize that darkness in another. She is as much a part of this as you are.”

“I convinced her to be my girlfriend so I could infiltrate your group. She needs to be let go,” Sebastian argues, taking a few more slow steps toward Silas.

Then I catch sight of a dark figure up in the rafters getting into position with a long-range rifle perched on a tripod.

I need to buy us some more time—because that must be Hayden or Christian.

I rest my trembling hand on Sebastian’s biceps. “I’ll go.”

“No,” Sebastian growls.

“It’s okay,” I tell him, resting a shaky hand on his shoulder. “I know you’ll find me.”

“Stevie.” His teeth grit together as he pushes me back.

I look him in the eye, trying to communicate to him it will be okay. “Trust me.” I have to do what he demands. There’s no way out of this. They can try to rescue me later. The guys need to kill the rest of the members, and Silas will be a lot easier to take out if he’s isolated and not hidden in the darkness of this mansion. I’m the one he wants.

I push past Sebastian’s muscular arm and walk the short distance to Silas.

“Good choice,” Silas compliments. His voice sends a shiver up my spine. But as I approach Silas with his gun still pointing at Sebastian, a loud bang reverberates in my left ear.

Silas startles as another shot comes from above, and he falls backward. A shoulder wound is quickly visible as he stumbles. I take this opportunity to lunge at him, grabbing the gun from his loose hand. Gripping it tightly, my finger presses heavily on the metal, and without thought, I aim the barrel at Silas, who is scrambling to his feet.

My heart stops at the realization he wasn’t shot.

The space around me blurs, and I pull the trigger with everything I’ve got, shooting him directly in the face. Blood splatters and sprays my cheeks as Silas’s body falls backward again, hitting the marble floor like lead.

The kickback causes me to stumble. Losing my balance, I trip over something on the floor. My head whips around to see Sebastian lying on his back with a small pool of blood around his chest.

“Oh god!” I gasp. The gun falls from my clutches.

“Sebastian!” I hear a familiar masculine voice yell from a distance.

My legs give out, sending me to the floor beside him. “No!” A blood-curdling scream flies from my lips. Sebastian’s eyes are barely open. “Sebastian!”

“Silas shot me,” he grits through the pain.

“Oh my god!” My eyes frantically dart around his body before landing on his abdomen, my hands cup the wound, pressing deeply to try to stop the flow of blood. “Christian! Hayden!”

Sebastian’s hand reaches up, his clammy palm meeting my cheek. “I told you I’d protect you, Stevie.”

“No!” Tears spring from my eyes, my nose drips down my lips. “No, no, Sebastian. Don’t do this!”

Then his hand falls from my face, followed by my heart plunging from my chest.

“Sebastian!” I wail. The sounds of my painful cries echo throughout the room. This can’t be happening. “You said you’d take me with you! You can’t leave me!”

A set of broad arms wrap around my waist and lift me off the floor. “I shot Silas!” I scream in desperation at Sebastian. “It’s over, we can go to Greyfriars Kirkyard! I shot him!” The grip around me gets tighter the more I struggle. “Let me go!” I scream, my legs kick into the air. I claw for Sebastian’s still body, without being able to touch it. I can’t be without him. “You said you’d take me with you! Sebastian! Please don’t leave me here alone!”

Through blurry vision, I see four black figures carefully lifting Sebastian from the ground.