Page 116 of Scars of Fate

Lucas shook his head.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“They’ll kill everyone.”

“They’ll kill everyone anyway.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know men like this.”

The voice came again.

“Thirty seconds!”

Lucas crawled toward me.

“You are not surrendering.”

“If I can stop this⁠—”

“You can’t.”

“You stopped a sniper for me.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“Because I’m trained to take that risk.”

“And I’m not allowed to?”

“No.”

“That isn’t your decision.”

“It is now.”

His hand closed around the back of my neck.

“They don’t want to negotiate with you. They want what you know. And when they have it, they’ll put a bullet in your head and leave your body somewhere no one will ever find it.”

His voice broke on the final words.

I saw it again.

The fear he couldn’t hide.

Not fear of dying.

Fear of losing me.

“Twenty seconds!”

Lucas brought his forehead against mine.

“You asked me to choose you.”