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It’s barely audible, but the sound of a woman screaming comes through clear enough that I know it’s Sylvia.
I rush up the stairs, my heart racing in my chest, adrenaline spurring me on. “Emily!”
“Die already!” I hear a moment before I reach the top.
Fuck! There’s been some sort of battle up here, glass scattered everywhere, the railing broken and full of bullet holes.
Then I hear “You’re insane!” coming from the ledge, and that’s when I spot a pair of hands barely holding on. “Get off m—”
I run toward them and am horrified to find Emily clinging to the building while Sylvia attempts to dislodge her.
“Let her go!” I order, and both women look up at me, Emily with a mix of pain and relief and my stepmother with crazed, wild eyes.
Grabbing both of Emily’s wrists, I pull her up. But this seems to enrage Sylvia more. Risking her own life, she slaps at my hands, desperate to get me to let go. When that doesn’t work, she resorts to punching Emily on the back.
It astounds me that she can hold on to Emily so well while dealing the punishing blows. If anything, it’s me who’s having a hard time holding on, the weight of the two women threatening to pull me over.
I get a moment of clarity then, where I realize that, in this position, I cannot get them both up safely. Only one will survive and I must choose.
There’s no contest.
Sitting back, I pull Emily as hard as I can as I simultaneously extend my leg, kicking Sylvia off. Her screams echo and disappear into the night as I fall back, bringing Emily with me.
We’re both panting, lying there motionless. Processing.
When Emily tries to sit up, I wrap my arms around her and keep her tightly against me. I’m trembling, fully aware of what I almost lost. Knowing that had she died, I would have thrown myself over the edge too.
But we aren’t out of the woods and time is a gift we don’t have. Before I can do more than take a deep breath, there’s a loud blast from below that makes the entire building shake.
“What was that?” Emily cries out, pulling out of my grasp.
We both glance toward the stairwell. “That, I’m afraid, is Gideon Black.”
Fuck.
24
EMILY
“That’s who I came to warn you about, Noah. He’s coming to kill you!” I scream as he gets up and drags me with him.
“I know.”
“He says you killed his family. Is that true?”
He grabs his gun from the floor, where it must have fallen when he reached for me, and hauls me down the stairwell. When we get to the bottom, he flattens himself against the wall and peers into the loft. “Quickly,” he says, taking us to the elevator. He presses the call button repeatedly, but nothing happens. “Fuck, it’s out. We have to take the stairs.”
“Ten flights down?” I follow close on his heels toward a door I’ve never used.
He works the manual numeric lock and opens it. “Stay behind me. Luca was supposed to secure the building, but something’s gone wrong.”
“Who’s Luca?” We’re descending at a fast pace, passing the fifth floor. I’m completely out of breath, not only due to the physical effort it takes to keep up with him, but also because, with the stairwell lights flickering in and out, it feels like we’re in a horror movie.
Above us, a door is kicked open and men enter. I glance up and make eye contact with a huge guy peering over the railing.
“Down there!” he yells and a stampede ensues.
“Fuck!” Noah yells, grabbing my wrist and pulling me even faster.
