“But,” I whisper.
He cuts me off.
“Down the hallway, there’s a door that leads to a construction site,” he says. “That’s the only way out.”
I take a step forward, then stop. I turn back to look at him.
Water drips from his hair and clothes. Blood stains his skin. For a moment, he looks exactly like the monster that lives in my head. But when he steps closer, I see his eyes. There is something feral there, something dangerous, but also something that made me feel safe. He is the kind of beast that destroys everything in its path except the one thing it chooses to protect.
My chest tightens.
I won’t argue again.
I turn around and run.
I run as fast as I can.
ZAYNE
As soon as I hear the door click shut, I step out of the shower and into the room.
There is an axe buried deep inside one of the bodies hanging from a chain near the wall. I wrap my fingers around the handle and pull. It comes free with a wet sound. I rest it against my shoulder and start toward the door.
“Zeke,” I shout. “Come out, come out.”
His laughter answers me.
The hallway lights begin to flicker, flashing so fast my eyes can barely keep up. Shadows jump in and out of the corners of my eyes. Anything could be there. Anything could be waiting.
My pulse steadies.
I walk forward.
Just as I raise the axe, he slams into me. My body crashes through the glass and hits the floor hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs.
“Zayne,” she screams.
We both hear it.
His attention snaps away from me. And it’s no longer about me, it’s about her.
He scrambles to his feet and runs.
I follow.
We tear through the lower hallway and up the stairs toward the second floor. My legs burn, my lungs scream, but I push harder. But he is faster.
By the time I reach the top, they are gone.
“Zeke,” I shout. “What the fuck are you doing? What happened to brothers who kill together stay together?”
“You chose her,” he shouts back. “It was never about us.”
Then I see them.
He has her.
“No,” I whisper.
