Then he pulled the gun away without a word. He turned and walked into the other room.
“Come with me. I have to show you something.”
I followed, legs still shaking and throat burning. He was in what passed for a living room, kneeling in front of a large, horizontal gun safe. He spun the dial with quick precision and yanked it open. Inside was a black box, and when he opened it, the pieces inside gleamed like something sacred.
It was a sniper rifle. I didn’t know anything about guns, but I had no doubt that’s what this was. I watched from the doorway, frozen. It felt like watching someone raise the blade of a guillotine.
He turned to me, holding up a single cartridge. He held it between two fingers and turned it toward the light. There was something scratched into the casing: rough, jagged letters. I took a hesitant step forward.
It was my name.
Eden.Etched by hand, like he’d been carrying it with him, waiting for me.
My breath caught.
“That one was yours.”
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because I almost used it,” he said, “and because I need you to understand what happens next. They’ll come looking for you again. I can’t stop that, not yet. But I can use it.”
“How?” My voice was paper thin.
“I need them to think you’re still living your life: normal, safe. I need them to feel confident enough to get close. You’ll go backto work, and that’s all. Home, then the café. You’ll smile, and pretend this didn’t happen. I’ll be close by, and when they come for you, I’ll be there.”
My chest tightened. “You want to use me as bait.”
“I don’t want to,” he said, “but it’s the only way.”
“And you’ll be watching?” I asked. “The whole time?”
“Every second.”
“And then what? After you lure them out?”
His jaw tightened. “I need to gather some intel; there are some that aren’t going to be this easy. I’ll have to go to them. While I do that, I will get you out of town until it’s over.”
I crossed my arms, holding myself together. “And when it’s over? It’s like it never happened? Life will go back to normal?”
“For you, yes,” he said, voice low.
My chest ached.
He looked down at the bullet with my name on it, and then back at me.
“You’re insane.”
He leaned in close enough to brush my knee with his.
“Maybe. But I’m the only thing standing between you and a bullet. I was supposed to kill you, Eden. But now I’m doing everything I can to make sure no one else ever gets the chance, and I’m going to need you to trust me.”
That didn’t give me any comfort.
Chapter twelve
Halo
“Body Heat, Target Lock”
