AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My heart thumped in my chest at the thought of seeing him again. Would he embrace me? Ignore me? Toss me over his shoulder and punish me?
(Yes, please.)
We moved into the narrow space between the cells’ rear walls and the craggy interior of the subterranean world we found ourselves in.
The cells were empty—all but one.
The ragged man.
“He’s not here,” Emana whispered.
“He must be,” I said.
I ducked and weaved to identify him tucked behind one of the bars, momentarily out of view.
But Emana was right. He wasn’t there.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Oh, I think I understand all right,” Emana said.
It was the coldness of her tone that snared my attention. When I turned to her, I found her pistol aimed directly at me.
“What are you doing?” I said.
“This is a trap,” she said. “You brought me down here to lock me in one of these cells. You’ve got another thing coming if you think I’m going quietly.”
I raised my hands.
“I didn’t bring you here for anything except to set your brother free,” I said. “I swear.”
“Then, where is he?” Emana said.
I felt my blaster pistol press against the waistband of my pants. Could I get to it before she opened fire?
Definitely not.
Not without a distraction.
And even if I could, I didn’t want to shoot at Emana. She might suspect me for dodgy dealing—I knew I deserved it—but I could never accuse her of the same. She was a good, kind person.
“We’ll figure this out,” I said. “Please. Put the gun down. This doesn’t need to be the end. Your brother has to be here somewhere. We can find him. But we need to work together.”
Emana blinked and lowered her weapon. She didn’t holster it but it was a step up from having it pointed at my face. Staring down the business end of a gun had turned my mouth dry.
“Is the showdown over already?”
The pistol was in Emana’s hands faster than I could blink. She spun around and aimed at the only other person present.
The ragged man who wrestled with Zes in Kal’s room. The scars seemed even more red raw down here. Maybe the dust was making them itchy.
“Hands up, buddy,” Emana said.
The ragged man raised them.
“Do you have any weapons?” Emana said.
“Besides my keen intellect?” the ragged man said.
