Pierce gives instructions over the radio to Capri and Quinn. I have to forcibly hold back a gasp when Lee and an older woman are dragged into the room.
What does this monster have planned for them? I look at all my friends and the older woman, and pray with everything in me that they all stay safe. Though I know it’ll be another unanswered prayer.
Pierce laughs into the radio. “Now, for your next task. One of them has to die. You have two minutes to decide who. If you don’t choose, you all die. Aren’t games fun!”
The radio goes silent, and Pierce turns toward me. “Who would you pick? Lee, Capri’s dear husband? Or Rebecca, Quinn’s mother?”
No, no, no. I’m not doing this again. My head spins, and my stomach rolls.
“Tick, tock,” Pierce mockingly teases into the radio. “Tick, tock.”
“Why are you doing this to us?” I ask, my voice shaking with barely restrained fear and anger.
Pierce cocks his head, bringing his hand to his chin, deep in thought. “You know, I wish I could tell you. But for now I’ll just settle with…” he pauses, then gives me a creepy, overly large smile. “Because I can.”
He shifts his attention back to the room, and I can do nothing but follow suit.
Capri throws herself at Lee the moment Pierce’s staff leaves the room. My heart cracks as I listen to her tell him how much she loves him. It breaks even more when Lee apologizes for bringing us all here.
Rebecca walks over to Quinn, holding her head up and standing tall with her shoulders back. She whispers something in his ear, and his expression cracks before my eyes, then he falls into his mother’s arms, sobbing. She kisses his cheeks and holds him tightly.
The anger I had toward Quinn’s betrayal starts to dissipate slowly. He was only trying to keep his mother safe. How can I hate him for that?
“What are we going to do?” Capri finally says once Quinn straightens himself. He grabs his mother’s hand, and they both turn to face Capri and Lee.
Lee steps forward, clearing his throat. “I volunteer.”
Capri’s answering wail rattles throughout the room, shaking me to my core. “No! You can’t play the martyr here! I need you! We both need you, Lee!”
“Both of you?” Lee asks, his face contorting in confusion as he looks from Capri to Quinn.
I look at Pierce. “He doesn’t know about Capri’s daughter, does he? That’s the big secret you wanted her to divulge in the escape room, wasn’t it?”
“Look at you, Teagan, putting it all together. Bravo, my darling,” Pierce answers, his voice filled with pride.
He can take that pride and shove it right up his—
There’s a loud gunshot from the room. When I jerk my head back to the window, all of them are on the floor now. Lee is shielding Capri, while Quinn has thrown himself over his mother.
“Time’s up, my friends,” Pierce coos into the radio. “You have three seconds to choose, or you all die.”
How can this man be so calm and collected while he ruins people’s lives?
There’s nothing I can do as Quinn gets to his feet. “Kill me. It’s about time you got on with it. I can’t wait to watch youwriteyour own books from my grave.”
Pierce mutters something under his breath. I turn to see his face twist into rage as he glares at his younger brother. He brings the radio to his lips again as my entire body vibrates with nerves. “So be it.”
“No!” I shout, slamming my hand against the window at the same time Rebecca stands and screams, throwing herself in front of Quinn.
The gun goes off, and I see the front of her shirt turn the brightest shade of red before my eyes. Tears fall from Quinn’s eyes as he cradles his mother until she finally slips away.
Pierce clicks his tongue. “Well, that didn’t go as planned. But so be it. I was getting rather tired of looking at my father’s trash every time she came into Windermere to clean.” He stands and claps his hands together. “Now, Teagan. I have one more gift for you. Don’t say I’m not on your side. Allison will escort you to the dining room now. I’m sure what you find there will be very…informative.”
He leaves the room, and my head spins in confusion, while the heartbreaking sounds of my friends crying continue behind me. My soul shatters as I look at them. Capri holds Rebecca’s hand as Lee places a hand on Quinn’s shaking shoulder. He has his mother’s lifeless body in his arms, whispering to her, knowing she’ll never hear those words.
I wish there were something I could do to take their pain away, even though I know it’s pointless.
We are never getting out of here alive.
