Slowly, they all retreat.
Callum’s eyes lock on mine, and his expression turns blank. He’s donning a shield. No, amask. I saw the look in his eyes just before that mask went up: terror.
And I know I won’t like what he says next.
“What do you want me to do, Dad?” Callum asks. His voice is quiet. Resigned.
Williams is smiling; I hear the glee in his voice when he says, “You’re going to take the blame, son. When the police come knocking, as they inevitably will,youare going to convince them you were responsible for all of my wrongs.”
A brief flicker of surprise passes across Callum’s face before he can hide it.
His father laughs. “Do you think I wouldn’t have guessed what you would do when your mate freed Charlotte Meeks? And youwillbe convincing, son. Or…”
I whimper as the needle digs into my neck. I feel a sharp prick and hot blood slides down the side of my throat.
Torin’s jaw hardens. Archer clenches his fist, and Callum glares. But none of them takes a step closer because if they do, I will die.
Torin’s eyes flick to my left.
One rapid dart, and the mood in the room changes as Torin’s shoulders relax the tiniest degree.
“Move a quarter of an inch, and I pull the trigger.” This new male voice is cold and familiar. It’s as cold as the last time he threatened my scent matches when they tried to stop me from leaving them.
Kylian Sutton.
William’s grip on my hair tightens, but Kylian isn’t done yet.
“Take one step back, I pull the trigger. Turn around, I pull the trigger. Do anything at all that makes me think I can’t trust you, I pull the fucking trigger. You get all that, old man?”
Silence.
Kylian laughs, and it’s a terrifying sound that sends shivers up and down my spine. “And if you’re still thinking about using that needle on her, I will do things to you that will make you wish you were never born. And I will take my sweet time doing them.”
The grip in my hair loosens, proving I’m not the only one convinced Kylian means it.
William pulls the needle away from my neck, and I start to believe I’ll live through this nightmare. Kylian jerks Callum’s dad away from me. The clatter of something hitting the hardwood floor is music to my ears. Callum, Archer, and Torin are suddenly there, pulling at my ropes and freeing me from the dining room chair.
I can’t stand. My legs refuse to support me. They just shake.
“Take her and go,” Kylian says.
I look at him for the first time since he snuck up on Callum’s dad from the door that leads to an adjoining room. He was so quiet, I never heard him until he was right there.
He has a gun pressed to the side of William’s head. I have never seen a hand as rock-steady as his or a look of such fierce determination in my life. No wonder Callum’s dad didn’t try to stab me with the needle. I see the fear in William’s eyes, though he tries to hide it.
Kylian looks at me and says, “Go.”
Archer swings me into his arms, and we sprint out of the house, toward a sleek black BMW parked on the graveled circular driveway in front of the house. Archer is urging me into the backseat of the car when I flinch as a gunshot rings out.
He freezes for a split-second before he slides into the seat beside me and slams the door shut. Callum gets behind the wheel of the car while Torin gets in the passenger seat.
I can’t stop shaking. My teeth are chattering so loudly, the sound fills the car until Callum starts the engine.
Archer wraps his arm around me and pulls me onto his lap.
He holds me against his chest and runs one hand up and down my back. “Shock,” he says quietly, “you’re okay now. You’re okay.”
I bury my face against his throat and let out an ocean of tears.
