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“Then I kill you. So…” Without warning she shoves me, forcing me to stand over Lily on the floor with my knife in my hand.

“What will it be? Kill one more person tonight and walk away free? Or die, knowing you could’ve gotten out of this and lived your life? Choice is yours…but you’ll need to make it fast.”

14

My fingers tighten around the knife and I stare down at Lily, my body cold. Her eyes find mine and she searches my gaze, looking for any clue of what I intend to do.

I can’t kill her.

But I can’t die here, either.

Kneeling down in front of her, my heart pounds against my ribs, and I study her face, unmoving. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “You get it, right? I can’t die here.” I’m talking to buy time, to give myself a few extra moments to figure out what the hell I should do.

Or really, what I can do. Other than kill her or let Elaine kill me. At the end of the day, if I have to pick between us, I’ll pick myself. The guilt might eat at me for awhile, but selfishly, I’d rather be alive to feel the guilt, instead of dead and feeling nothing at all.

“You understand, right?” I’m still going, still trying to buy just a few more seconds. Even though I’m down to the wire, I have to believe that I’m not alone here.

I have to believe they’ll come get me out.

“I understand.” Her eyes read helpless, hopeless, and I hate the way that Lily curls in on herself in surrender.

Slowly, so fucking slowly, I drop to my knees in front of her with the knife in my hand. “I don’t want to do this,” I tell her. “I never wanted–”

A window shatters, causing both men and Elaine to jerk around. Lily looks too, but I don’t hesitate. I don’t care if this is or isn’t the sign I was hoping for. I only care that it gives me a moment of the three of them not being utterly focused on me.

If that’s all I can get, then I’ll take it. I turn and lunge for Elaine, shoving her to the floor before stumbling away when Jeff lurches in my direction. A door bangs open, but no one comes in. Still, it gives me another distraction, and Gideon’s attention flickers from Jeff grappling with me to the door.

At least, until the figure appears behind him. Clad in all black with the familiar black and neon smiling mask, Adrien drags a blade across the front of the man’s throat. Gideon cries out, the sound becoming a mess of gurgling gasps when he drops to his knees, and when Jeff manages to throw me onto my back, he’s immediately hauled off of me by Ansel coming in through the door I’d been dragged through.

My heart pounds in my chest, my cuts stinging as my pumping blood and the short struggle makes them well up again.

“Wait!” I yell, rolling over to see Elaine being pinned on the floor under Ronan. “Wait, stop–I SAID STOP!”

When Ronan doesn’t listen, when he raises the hunting knife in his hand, I throw myself forward without thinking about what the hell I’m doing. Ronan looks up, his surprise evident even behind the mask, and he throws himself backward before I can accidentally stab myself on his knife.

“Jesus, what the fuck, Sable?” he snarls, stumbling to his feet. “Have you lost your mind?”

I ignore him, instead moving to pin Elaine before she can get up. My knife goes to her throat and she stiffens, her eyes wide on mine as her breath comes in shallow pants.

“I was helping you,” she breathes, gasping as she looks at me. For the first time, there’s fear in her gaze, and the uncertainty of her own fate tonight.

In this moment, she’s the victim, and I’m the hunter, though that thought makes something in me feel cold.

She deserves it, technically. I know that. But I bite my lip and keep the blade near her, instead of cutting her throat right now like I should.

“There were more hunters here. I–I saw them earlier. So where are they?” I demand.

Elaine’s eyes widen, then narrow. “Why?”

I tilt my head, fixing her with a flat look. “Because they don’t get to walk free after this. I don’t care if this is some super secret club and you do all this research. Me? I’m a person. I didn’t do anything wrong. At least, not enough to get killed by you. I doubt Lily did either.”

I glance back at the girl I’ve only known for a few hours, relieved when I see Ronan helping her to her feet with an arm supporting her around the waist so she can lean on him. Her eyes are heavy lidded, her body shaky, and she really does look worse for wear.

But at least she’s alive.

“Why should I tell you?” Elaine asks, voice sharp. “is this where you tell me that you’ll kill me quick, that you won’t drag it out, if I tell you?”

“No.” My voice is flat and I hesitate before saying, “This is where I tell you that I won’t kill you at all.”