Dad's faster. One shot. Snake's leg. He goes down screaming, clutching his thigh.
And Flint?—
Flint lunges for the cage, grabs the bars, presses his gun between them and against my head.
I freeze.
Everyone freezes.
"Back off!" Flint's voice is panicked now, the smugness gone. "Back off or she dies! I'll blow her fucking brains out!"
Shadow stops mid-stride.
His gun is still trained on Flint, but he doesn't fire.
Can't fire.
Not with Flint's gun pressed to my temple.
"Put the gun down," Flint orders. "All of you. Guns down or she dies."
"You pull that trigger," Shadow's voice is ice cold, absolutely deadly, "you're dead before she hits the ground."
"Then we all die together."
I'm staring at Shadow. At his face. At the terror and rage warring in his eyes.
He came for me. Just like I knew he would.
And I'm not going to let Flint use me as a shield.
The zip ties on my wrists are loose.
I've been working them this whole time.
They're not broken, but they're loose enough.
I catch Shadow's eye.
Some kind of silent communication passes between us.
Trust me.
I see the moment he understands. The slightest nod.
Then I move.
I lunge toward Flint through the bars, grabbing his gun hand with both of mine, yanking it away from my head, pointing it up toward the ceiling.
The gun goes off.
Deafening.
The bullet hits the rafters.
Shadow fires.
Perfect shot.
