“Heard you were the guy who took my girl the first time,” Claudius barked, finally speaking. His voice sounded everywhere all at once in the vast expanse of the space before us. “Jude, is that right?”
I kept my gaze trained on Claudius, but he wasn’t looking at me. He looked above me at Jude.
“If you know, why are you asking?Boss,” Jude threw back and laughed. “Didn’t you think it made for an interesting game? Except you should have died too. You know what? Goliath wanted to cut your head off. A crazy-ass man like that, and that was all he came up with. It was my brilliant idea to strap the bomb to your wife, grab her twin, and try to make you see which one you could save. I have all these ingenious ideas that these people don’t really make use of. Goliath did it his way. Game of chance. Same with Victor and Henry. At least he took me up on using the old mental home.”
I saw the dark look in both Claudius and Luc’s eyes at the mention of Henry. I knew that would be another stab to the chest. I’d already been in Europe when Henry died, but I’d heard about it. Marissa told me.
“All those ideas, and I was never more than a grunt. Time for that all to change. Joe was going to pay me a lot for this gig. Your little stunt today cost me a million dollars. This is me recouping some of my losses. I wonder if her death would make you lose your mind. Such a shame I never got to use the bomb, but blowing her brains is still just as good.”
The trigger clicked in my ear.
He was going to kill me. This was it. This was it. My final moment.
My gaze locked with Claudius but he still wasn’t looking at me.
I was hoping he could see how much I loved him with my eyes.
I snapped my eyes shut though when Jude released the trigger.
* * *
Claudius
* * *
Click, clack, and –
That was all.
All I would allow. Jude actually released the trigger, but I got to him first and my bullet in his neck made him fire the shot in the wall across from him instead of Ava’s head.
He screamed a piercing wailing sound that tore through my soul and grabbed at his neck. Jude pulled Ava down with him as he fell to the ground.
She shuffled away from him as blood spurted from his neck and his eyes rolled back in his head.
While everyone else stared at Jude, I rushed to Ava. She was shaking and crying. I pulled the tape from off her mouth first , ripped the damn bomb vest from her chest and crushed her to me.
I froze up because I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to shoot him. I didn’t want to kill him.
Jude, Alex’s brother. Jude, one of The Four.
Being suspicious was a lot different to facing reality. There’s always that in between, that room of possibility where you could be wrong.
Hearing goliath tell me Jude had Ava, seeing Jude with Ava and hearing the venom of his words showing his hate for us told all.
I was right and I had to end him.
He was the first person I ever killed that left me feeling like this. Hollow and empty.
“Claudius.” Ava wailed she was still shaking.
Luc and the guys started walking, back the way we’d come.
But… the clicking behind me told me this wasn’t over yet.
Click, clack… then…
BANG!
