“He’s still weak, look at him,” Sveinn says.
“He is, isn’t he. Might as well end him now.”
Rolant cocks back the gun, and I shout, “No!” I try to step forward but Keller doesn’t let me. I hold my hand out past Keller. “Wait, please, there has to be something I can do that will make this better. What do you want? I’ll do whatever you need. Please don’t hurt him.”
Rolant chuckles and glances over at Sveinn. “Maybe we were wrong. Maybe she does care about him more than we thought.” He motions for me to come forward, but Keller doesn’t move. “Unless you want your dick shot off, move so she can step forward.”
“Keller, listen to him,” I say, and reluctantly, he steps to the side, allowing me to move forward. “What can I do? Do you want me to leave? Go back to Miami?”
“No,” Rolant says. “That seems too easy at this point.”
“And we can’t guarantee that she won’t come back.”
“Exactly, brother,” Rolant says. “Which means we need to keep her around.”
“And use her to our advantage. Make her do the work we were hoping to do,” Sveinn says.
“Anything,” I say with feigned desperation. “I will do anything.”
“Anything?” Rolant asks. “She’s a lot more willing to please than her mother ever was.”
The mention of my mother from his mouth nearly makes me charge after him, but like Keller taught me, I remain as calm as I can.
“Much more pleasing,” Sveinn says. “Which means, I bet she would give us access to Birch Forest.”
“If she knew Keller was safe if she did, I bet she would.”
“For energy, right?” I ask, taking a shot. I’m also hoping the conversation will distract them so Lara can work out a tactic to take them out. “The moss acts like a biological solar panel.”
Rolant’s brows pull together. “You know about the moss?”
“It’s something I’ve been looking into. Theo is totally against it, but I don’t see why we can’t be careful and use it properly. It’s not like anyone is even allowed near it to see just how old the moss is. Seems like a wasted resource.”
“It is,” Rolant says slyly, his eyes traveling up and down.
“I don’t trust her,” Sveinn says. “Keller trained her, so she knows exactly what to say in this kind of moment.”
“You know what, you’re right,” Rolant says, an evil gleam in his eyes. “You’re absolutely right. We went through crisis training, so we know every trick of the trade, and look at them following it with precision. Well, we’re not falling for it.” And then, he moves the gun, points it at Ottar, and shoots.
A scream falls past my lips as Ottar falls to the ground, blood spilling out of his leg as he clutches it.
“Why did you do that?” I ask as I look up at Rolant.
“So I can do this.” He points his gun at Keller.
Time stands still as I watch evil overpower the look in Rolant’s eyes. Pure, unadulterated anger and disdain, oozing from every inch of his body as he smirks...right before pulling the trigger.
I don’t have time to think, I don’t have time to question what’s going on, all I have time for is basic instinct as the trigger is pulled.
I leap in front of Keller just as the most intense pain I’ve ever felt pierces my body.
ChapterThirty-Seven
KELLER
“Nooooo,” I cry out just as Lilly hits the ground, face down, blood pooling around her. I fall to the gravel beneath us just as two more gunshots ring out. They don’t come from Rolant or Sveinn, but rather from Harrogate.
“They’re down,” Ottar calls out.
