“Well, then, let’s spread out and wait for Bates. He’s going to have to come out of hiding if he’s going to shoot one of us when the hour’s up. We can catch him by surprise.”
“Jesus Christ, Raya. He’s probably already outside waiting for us. He might be watching right now. Besides, who’s to say he doesn’t have several hidey-holes, or a whole underground network of tunnels? We’ve been here since last night and no one has seen him yet. We’ve got little to no chance we’ll just happen to catch him wandering around before the hour’s up. Stop being so fucking ridiculous. You’ll get us all killed.”
Ridiculous?
Enough. Ana felt an uncharacteristic wave of anger. Ellis couldn’t just stand there and dictate their future, insult Raya, and send another one of them over the line to die. He did not have the right.
She stepped forward.
“You want to know what’s ridiculous, Ellis?” The words flowed easily, as though someone had raised a creaky locked-down floodgate deep inside her. “What’sridiculousis having a chance to get out of herealive and not even trying to make it happen. What’sridiculousis throwing another one of us over the line—executingone of us, just to buy yourself more time.” She looked pointedly at the tractor and rope.
Ellis stormed up to her, towering over her small frame. His powerful athleticism was wound up dangerously tight, and for a moment, Ana thought he might take a swing at her.
“You like my death machine, do you? What—you thought I was going to happily throw someone over the line every time another one of your plans fucked up?” Ellis spat the words with barely controlled anger. “Who thefuckdo you think you are? No one gives a shit about whatyouhave to say. You’re not your brother. You’re not Danny. Not even close.” He shook his head, raw contempt in his cold gray eyes.
Dismissed. Taken down. Ana’s thoughts faltered. There was the familiar crack inside her. The crack that had become a chasm since Danny died. Insecurity and self-doubt reared up to fill the void. The thing was…he was right. She wasn’t Danny.She wasn’t even close.
Ellis was watching her. It was as though he could see the crack inside her, sense her weakness. He would stick his fist into it and rip her open if she made him.
Her eyes dropped. It was the smallest of movements, but it was enough.
Ellis nodded and turned away from her. Dismissively. Victoriously.
“We vote. Now. If it’s a split vote, we toss a coin. One of us goes and we live past the hour. End of discussion.”
Jax circled him slowly, catching a flattering upward angle. The hero. The leader. The MVP.
Who made him the boss?Ana thought angrily. Why did he hold so much power? He was just another seventeen-year-old boy, not to mention an arrogant, self-serving jerk who would sell his own grandmotherto get what he wanted. Why him? Why was he a leader when he so clearly didn’t care about anyone other than himself?
Maybe Ellis was right. Their plan was weak, there were holes. They might be wrong, and, yes, they could be making a terrible, fatal mistake. But at least they had a plan. At least they had hope. Right now, that was all any of them had.
It came in a wave: fiery, bitter anger. Pure and unrelenting. This day’s fear and grief closed in around her. She was done. She was over this. Over Ellis. Over the white line. Over constantly being afraid and sad and hopeless. She was done being a victim.
Without noticing it, Ana stood taller, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides.
“No.” Her voice was clear, all doubt gone.
Ellis looked at her again, surprise and irritation vying for space in his dark expression.
“No?” he said patronizingly.
“You heard me. I said no. I might not be my brother, but I know this much: no one else needs to die today. We’ll find where Bates is hiding. If he’s there, we’ll fight him. If he’s not, we’ll take over his hiding place. It won’t be rigged to explode, and if he’s in contact with those cowboys, he must have a way to call out of this place. We’ll barricade ourselves in and wait to be rescued. We have a chance now—all of us here. Maybe it’s a small one, but that’s a risk we have to take.”
Ellis fixed her with a powerful stare. Ana stood her ground, meeting his eyes squarely. For the first time all day, she felt utterly calm. She knew what needed to be done and was going to do it.
It was clear that Ellis was reevaluating her threat level. Moving her up the pile, from Danny’s nobody sister, to something else—something much more dangerous. There was a look on his face that hadn’t beenthere before. Respect? Fear? She couldn’t place it, but she knew what it meant. He would be coming for her next.
She smiled at him.
Bring it.
Jax was circling the two of them, wedging his phone into the center of the confrontation. He had a talent for sniffing out cinematic moments, she had to give him that. But this time, he flew too close to the sun, and Ellis smacked him away.
“Get thefuckout of my face, Jax.”
“Jeez.” Jax rolled his eyes and retreated to Jade’s side. He started filming himself and Jade, mouthing, “WTF,” dramatically and pouting.
“Oh my god. Seriously?” Jade pushed him away. “Just stop filming me, Jax. Stop it! STOP IT!”
