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“Bastard children don’t count.” Gunner’s eyes don’t leave my body, but he’s not thinking of me. It’s like he has no clue I’m here. He’s the machine, the computer that can compartmentalize. It’s a necessity to survive, so he works on my wires and doesn’t notice the torrent of tears that stream over my face.
With a muffled curse, Kane refastens his hands around Jay’s collar and pulls him out the front doors.
“Thirty seconds, babe. Hold on for me. Don’t die from a heart attack.”
“Fix it, fix it, fix it. Please, Gunner. Fix it.”
“I’ve got you, baby. I promised, didn’t I?” Tears fill Gunner’s eyes. “I promised I’d come back to find you.”
“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. We’re gonna die.”
“I will never let you die. I promised. One or two? Libby? One or two?”
“What? One or two what?”
“We have two wires. Both black. One is gonna fuck us up. The other will fix this. One or two.”
“Oh my god. I dunno! What do your instincts say?”
“One. It should be one.”
“So choose number one!” I look down to the watch. “Oh god! Ten seconds. Pick number one!”
“But he’s got the number dyslexia thing. Did he do it right?”
“Oh God. Oh no. Seven seconds.”
“Pick one! I’m here with you. Whatever you choose.”
“I don’t know.” My voice is nothing more than a shaking whimper. “I don’t know.”
“One.” He closes the pliers around one of the wires as the watch counts down.
Five.
Four.
Three.
“It should be one.”
“I forgive you,” I cry. “Whatever it is. I forgive you.”
“It’s two.” When the watch reaches one, Gunner switches wires and lines the pliers up, and using his body weight as he comes down to drape his body over mine, he makes the cut.
I hear thesnip.
I hear the beep of the watch.
And then I hear the heavy breathing we make on the club floor.
My eyes are closed. My heart has surely stopped, but I count in my head. I count ten breaths before I open my eyes and study the carnage around us. The club remains standing, and my heart slams against Gunner’s while he blankets my body with his.
“It didn’t go off.” I look around in shock. “It didn’t go off.”
Slowly, Gunner lifts his chest and looks at the vest sandwiched between us. His hands shake as much as Evie’s did earlier. His face is pale, and sweat slides over his brow like he’s been jogging for hours.
“Gunner.” I concentrate on my breathing and wait for his eyes. “I didn’t blow up. How’d you know to choose number two?”
