AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He steps backward, his mouth parted in shock, clearly hurt that he isn’t my first pick. But as I hear Polly howling in the distance, I know who I have to choose.
“Tristan, I choose Tristan!” I roar, my eyes never leaving Quinn’s as he shakes his head, his pained eyes begging me to take him instead.
“Forgive me,” I sob, but the hurt on Quinn’s face will forever scar my very existence for as long as I live.
“Happy, you sadistic asshole?” I scream at Phil.
“Very,” he replies and takes a step toward the van with a smile.
Tristan is wordlessly at my side in an instant, and I can’t face him because I’m so ashamed of myself.
But this decision was made with our survival in mind, and I just hope Quinn will one day understand that.
As Tristan and I take our first step toward imprisonment, Phil suddenly spins around, his eyes twinkling in pleasure.
“Why did you choose him?” he questions, looking at Tristan.
No, I internally gasp because I know what he wants me to say.
“I did what you wanted! Let’s just leave.”
But Phil shakes his head, pulling the gun from the small of his back and pressing the muzzle to Tristan’s cheek.
Quinn rushes to our side, but Thomas appears from the van, pointing the gun directly at my head.
“Tell me, Mia. Tell me why you chose him, and this will all be over with. Just tell me,” he chides, and as Polly’s screams echo in my ears, I know what I have to do.
“I chose him because he’s weak!”
Both Quinn and Tristan gasp. My entire body shuts down around me, and I don’t think I’ll ever pull away from this alive.
“There’s the girl I raised.” Phil snickers. “No matter what you say, Mia, we’re more alike than you think.”
“I’m nothing like you,” I growl, barely containing my nausea.
“We’ll see.” He chuckles, removing the gun from Tristan’s face.
“Weak?” Tristan gasps, his mouth agape as he slowly turns toward me. “You think I’m weak?”
“No,” I cry, shaking my head, my body vibrating in pain. “I need Quinn to protect Polly, Abi, and Cynthia.”
“And what? You don’t think I can do that?”
“No,” I softly reply, as we don’t have the time to discuss this now.
The final piece of the puzzle falls into place.
“So you chose me because you think I needyourprotection?” he presses, and Quinn quickly reaches for him.
“Fuck off, man!” Tristan yells, pulling from his grasp.
Quinn raises his hands in surrender, and I hate that we’ve come to this.
“I’ll explain everything later,” I plead. “We gotta go. Cynthia’s life depends on it.”
Tristan reluctantly nods, and I turn to look at Quinn, begging him to forgive me.
But he only shakes his head, the wound still too raw.
