I ignore it though, he won’t shoot her. Not yet.
And even though everything in me tells me to go to my wife, to cover her from the threat, I don’t.
I don’t even look at her bar that first glance when I stepped out from the crates.
She whimpers and my teeth snap together, grinding painfully, “Get your gun away from my wife,” I warn Stefan, my aim true.
“Do you think you can shoot me before I shoot her?” He asks with a menacing grin.
“Should we find out?” I ask. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Sebastian edges toward Iwan who has his hands up, his gun still holstered but I don’t hear Killian or Dean behind me. Where the fuck did they go!?
Olivia shuffles on the floor, trying to get away but the ropes restrict her. I keep my eyes on Stefan though, but I can see her out of the corner of my eye.
“Let her go.”
“Step down,” Stefan counters.
“There is no road here where you win, Stefan.” I warnhim.
“Do you not love your wife, Malakai?” He taunts, “Is the organization more important to you than her life?”
“Get the fuck away from her.”
“Choose, Malakai,” Stefan clips, “Her or the throne. You can’t have both.”
“I will kill you, Stefan,” I vow.
“And I’ll kill her,” he shrugs indifferently, “You don’t get both, Malakai. Isn’t that right, Olivia?” He asks her directly. Whatever answer she gives is stifled beneath that tape.
“I’ll count to three,” Stefan continues, “By three, I expect your choice.”
Movement beyond Stefan captures my attention and I just about see the shadow of one of the guys moving between the crates behind Stefan.
“One.” He starts.
It’s Killian, he has his eyes on Stefan. He won’t shoot in case he misses and Stefan fires on Olivia. He’s planning on disarming him.
My heart thumps wildly inside my chest.
“Two.”
Olivia screams beneath the tape, the sound of it, no matter how stifled it is, twists inside my gut.
“Th–” Stefan is cut off before he can finish the number, his breath rushing from him with an oof.
A gun goes off.
And it wasn’t one of ours.
Chapter Sixty-two
Blood.
There’s blood. So much blood
Olivia is screaming, the sound muffled behind the tape but it’s a sound I’ll never forget, edged and soaked in agony. There are tears on her face, streaking through the grime and dirt clinging to her skin.
