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Someone clicks the safety off their gun, and Alaric snaps the cell window shut so I can’t see what’s happening. I kick the door. It won’t stop them from blowing her brains out, but at least she’ll know someone cared whether she lived or died.
I imagine them pointing the barrel at her, expecting it to fire any second, but it doesn’t…
The hinges to my cell creak.
“Step away from the door, pretty boy,” Stephanie threatens, appearing in the doorway, “or I’ll redecorate this cell.”
Next to her, Alaric’s fingers dig into Ivy’s arms so hard that her skin bulges in his grasp. He presses his gun into her forehead while Stephanie aims hers at me. Ivy tries to shrug Alaric off and says, “If you’re going to kill me, fucking do it.”
“I have a better idea,” Alaric says, grinning. “I want to give you both a final chance at redemption and more time to think about what you’ve done.”
He throws Ivy in my direction, and she goes flying from the force. I run to catch her, but Stephanie is quick on the trigger. She fires a shot to punish me for moving. It skims my thigh and slices through the skin but misses my major artery. I stagger as Ivy breaks her fall with her hands.
“The last one alive gets a free pass,” Alaric says, slamming the door shut behind us.
Ivy’s panting, and I offer my hand to help her to her feet. In response, her head snaps up, and her venomous glare is enough to make me hold up my hands and back away.
CHAPTER33
IVY
Alaric and Stephanie leave silence and destruction in their wake. They have split my world in two. Everything I knew about my life with the Killers Club was bullshit, and my body shakes from the shock.
Bram—the traitor!—offers me his hand, then changes his mind. Good fucking riddance! He’s lucky I’m in shock, otherwise, he’d have a broken wrist. I haul myself upwards without Bram’s help.
“Stephanie!” I go to the door and pummel my fists against it. “Alaric! This isn’t funny!”
I keep banging, but there’s no response…
I don’t want to turn around and face Bram yet. I can’t. Doing that will mean accepting that the people I’ve known for years never truly cared about me. If they can shut me out so quickly, I’m nothing more than a loaded gun and another weapon on their shelf.
“Come on!” My voice grows hoarse as the minutes pass, but I push aside the scratchy feeling at the back of my throat. “Let me out!”
No one returns to tell me this was a joke. Nope, this is happening. I’m not a Killers Club agent anymore, I’m their prisoner.
Out of the corner of my eye, a blood trail on the concrete floor catches my attention. I spin slowly to find Bram cradling his leg on the floor. He’s shirtless and uses his teeth to rip what’s left of his t-shirt into strips. He winces in pain as he wraps them around the wound with his bloodstained hands. The offending bullet lies a few feet away.
He catches me staring and arches an eyebrow as if to ask whether I will help.
“It’s just a scratch,” I bark, refusing to kneel. “It’s a shame it didn’t go through your head.”
Maybe I should kill him now. It’d be easy to snap his neck when he’s in this position. A quick twist of my wrist would put him out of his misery. He’s vulnerable, and seeing his shredded muscles in their full glory makes me aware this might be my last chance at an advantage.
You need to think, Ivy.Don’t give in to the rising panic. If you do, it’ll wash over you like waves and drown you. I need to be strong.
Bram scowls and secures the fabric in place with a tight knot. He shuffles to the opposite corner of the cell, as far away from me as possible in the small space. The moody prick crosses his arms over his hairy chest, making his biceps bulge, and has the cheek to glower at me.
“I don’t have time to kiss your boo-boos better,” I retort. “Can’t you see we’re in a bad situation here?”
He rolls his eyes.Welcome to the fucking club.
“Don’t look at me like that.” I jab my finger accusingly in his direction. “It’s your fault I’m here. You were trying to set me up!”
Would I have done the same in this position? I skim my fingers around the edges of the door holding us hostage, but it’s useless. We specially designed the cells to be escape-proof.
Bram wipes his hands with the remnants of his t-shirt, then writes a message and holds it up to show me.
I won’t kill you.
