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The walls shake from explosions and bullets, raining in the chaos of sounds, but Lester strides toward him, closing that little distance between them. Not caring even the slightest that these walls are coming down on top of us.
“Don’t hurt him! Stop, please,” I scream a plea, coughing from the dirt blocking my airway, crawling toward him on my knees.
He places his palm on the tattoo carved on his chest like a cloak to protect his heart. “It’s not Mark’s heart beating inside of his chest, you know?” He pauses as my knees start bouncing from fear. “It’s your beloved Logan’s.”
I blink confused as another blast somewhere way too close brings a new wave of dust. “What are you talking about?” I inch closer, but when he digs his nails into his inked skin, I halt. Mark throws his head back and groans in pain.
“Darren made the decision to donate his brain-dead son’s heart to his slowly dying nephew. Mark got a second chance to live. How convenient, isn’t it? Tragic actually that you fell in love with Mark because of your dead husband’s heart.” He laughs at my aghast expression, but it’s Mark’s that slays me.
“You killed Logan.” I swallow a lump in my throat, remembering a conversation with Helen and then Mark. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
“You really know how to compartmentalize, don’t you?” He closes the gap between us and I freeze, digging my nails into my flesh to stop from acting. He jerks me to my feet. “Logan was a lesson to Darren, who dared to keep my son from me, so I took his. Mark was mine. His brother left his son for me to mold as I saw fit.”
“Left?”
He throws his head back and laughs as if my question amuses him, but then he walks away, leaving me be. I grab the blade from the ground and pass it to Mark just before Lester turns around with plastic ties in his hands. His ruthless eyes pin me to the spot.
“Once upon a time, I caught his father and my wife fornicating. I could have killed them both, but she was pregnant with his baby. So, after she gave birth to Mark, I made a deal with Derrek. If he wanted her to live, he had to make a choice between his lover and bastard child.”
My heart stutters, watching confusion filter on Mark’s face.
“Derrek loved two things in life, beautiful women and money, so he chose to leave with what wasn’t his. My wife and ten million dollars instead of choosing his little baby boy.”
“Mark’s mother died in childbirth.” I try to negate his cruel words.
Dirty tears roll down my cheeks, watching Mark’s ambers dim, glazing over from the pain. He didn’t know.
“You’re lying.” I try to distract him as Mark starts to work on the wristband.
“That’s what they told him because she did, five years later, giving birth to his little sister.” He ties my wrists, brushing away strands of hair from my face. “Don’t you worry, beautiful Cassandra, I’ll take care of you, but this boy’s life belongs to me.” His face turns sinister as he cocks a gun, pointing at his heart. “And I will end it.”
“Please, don’t.” I move in front of him to block his view and to give Mark more time to work on his restraints.
Lester’s heartless expression plows a cold dagger into my lungs. But I stand my ground. Shifting to the left, I try to draw him away. And to my relief, Lester follows.
Griping my chin, he sneers at me. “But I found a perfect replacement.”
My stomach plummets as he slides the barrel on his shotgun. Oh God. No!
With agonizing clarity, I know I need to do something. Now. Or Mark won’t survive the bullet. Either the walls will bury us or Lester end us. Two choices. The same outcome.
At least I’ll choose how I die.
Fighting. Defying. Never surrendering.
I move.
But someone rams into Lester from the side, pushing me out of the way.
I trip and fall.
Before I can leap to my feet to help Mark, who’s wrestling with Lester, the gunshots explode into the atmosphere. A scream lodges in my throat as they both collapse on top of the rubble.
“Mark!”
The dust-like snow falls onto the floor, covering two bodies, lying motionless.
“No, no, no . . .” I scramble, trying to reach the man I love. “Mark! Mark, please . . . no . . .”
