Liam stretched his neck to see, and the way his eyes widened, it was evident he was as disturbed as I was by the sight.
“Open the cylinder so you know it’s loaded. Open it,” Himeros instructed.
“I…don’t know how,” I confessed, my voice shaking because I feared the repercussions of not being able to complete the task.
“Ah, this kid has never even handled a gun.” His chuckle made the speaker he was talking through spike. “And yet you send him into the lion’s den, Agent McKinney? Shame on you. You didn’t take good care of him. Maybe that’s why you ended up in this situation. Push on the right side, the cylinder, where the bullets are.”
I removed the gun from the box and obeyed, managing as best I could with my free hand. It was fully loaded.
That wasn’t my life right then…no, it couldn’t be anyone’s life.
Although, I knew any amount of wishing or hoping that it wasn’t so wouldn’t make that true.
“Now you know it’s loaded, so push on the left side to close it.”
I pushed it back with my thumb.
“If you had use of both your hands, you could even spin it. That would make it so much more dramatic!” He said that so enthusiastically, like the showman he’d revealed himself to be. He chuckled like a madman. “But now that you do have this gun, your lives are in your hands, Pretty Thing.”
Liam snarled again as he continued picking at the lock. “What are you doing, you crazy motherfucker?”
“An experiment, like one my mother might perform. But again, let’s call it a game! I’m curious about human nature, trying to unearth those dark secrets that lie deep within our souls. That said, Ty, I have a proposition for you. This is how it goes: you can either shoot Liam or yourself. Those are your two options.”
The timer on the table shifted to read 00:02:00.
“The fuck? I’m not shooting—”
“Two minutes to make your decision, but you must pull the trigger by the end of this timer. You must make a decision. It’s either you or him. If you don’t choose, I will release the gas into the room, and you both die, which again, what a shame.” He sounded less than believable about that being a shame to him.
“So who do you choose, Pretty Thing? I’m curious. Aren’t you too, Liam?”
Liam looked nearly as shocked as I was, which couldn’t have been a good sign, considering all the fucked-up shit I was certain he’d seen throughout his life.
“If I shoot Liam, you’re just going to kill me anyway,” I said as I thought through my options…or lack thereof.
“Or maybe worse. Consider that too, Pretty Thing. What if you kill him, and he actually winds up dying much quicker than you would have if you’d just taken yourself out first? But can you do such a thing to yourself? Agent McKinney, do watch and enjoy the show. Regardless of his decision, you lose someone you care about…just as I did.”
I could hear the contempt in his voice—the sound of a child missing their parent. In some ways, I understood that, but not what he was doing to me.
“So many questions, but I’ve already begun the time. And you only have a minute and forty seconds remaining.”
I’d been so focused on the goddamn gun in my hand, I hadn’t even realized it had started.
Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck.
It was surreal. I could hardly sort through where we were and how this was happening, let alone the gravity of everything he’d just forced upon me.
How could I make a fucking decision like that?
I wished Himeros had been in the room so I could put a bullet through his brain.
Was there some way I could use this to help Liam break free? Or myself? Or do anything that could fucking get us out of this mess?
Goddammit!
“Come on, Ty,” Himeros practically sang from the vent. “Is it better that you show your ugly side, do the most human thing you could do and kill Liam, even if it means only a fraction, a few seconds left on your own life? Is it worth it? Tell me.Showme.”
In a moment, as I saw the panic in Liam’s expression, I knew what this whole game was really about: he wanted Liam to feel betrayed. To feel that his faith in me had been misplaced. That was the game he was fucking playing at.
