Lassiter turned and looked at Nari. He licked his lips. “I’ll get my lab ready.”
* * *
Nari wrapped her arms around Angus’s waist, her heart thundering in her chest. He was there and solid, and she clung to him for a moment inside the cell.
“Are you all right?” he asked, kissing her forehead, his cuffed hands between them.
“Yes.” She stepped back. “This is my mom, Louise.”
Angus nodded. “Hi.”
Her mom’s face was pale but stoic. “Hello.”
Angus looked over his shoulder to where Lassiter was bustling around his lab, humming happily. Opal had gone elsewhere to take care of some phone calls, after making Lassiter promise not to start until she’d said goodbye and left to avoid the screaming. “We’re at the end of a long driveway and nobody will hear us. Chances are this place is soundproofed, too.”
Nari’s knees wobbled. “Did you see the stun guns?”
Angus nodded. “Yeah. He can’t stun all three of us at once, but he doesn’t have to open the doors, either.” His gaze darted around.
Nari couldn’t breathe. “How long do you think we have?”
He dropped another kiss to her cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.”
There wasn’t anything to figure out. Nari swallowed. “No matter what happens—”
“No,” he said. “Don’t even think it.”
Nari looked around. She’d already tried with Lassiter, and Opal didn’t seem to care. There was no way to reason with them and there was no way out. “There’s only one solution,” she whispered.
“What?” Her mom reached down to hold her hand. “What can we do?”
Nari gulped in air and lifted her face to Angus. “You’re gonna have to kill me.”
He cocked his head. “Excuse me?”
She breathed in. “If you do, you win the game. It’ll freak Lassiter out and maybe he’ll open the door.”
“Or he’ll just shoot me and then torture your mom,” Angus hissed.
That was a risk they’d have to take. “We don’t have another option.” She grabbed his arm. “Listen. You know this guy better than anybody else. You’re smarter than he is and you already caught him once. We can’t get out with force, and nobody’s coming to rescue us. It’s on you, Angus. You’re going to have to make it look real.” She hated to put that on him, but they were running out of time. Lassiter was lining up his instruments as well as several cigarettes and a blowtorch. She shivered.
“Damn it,” Angus muttered, his head hanging and his eyelids closing. He inhaled and then slowly exhaled, the muscles in his arms vibrating. Finally he looked up and nodded. “All right. But don’t really die on me.” Without warning, he flipped her around and lifted her by the neck with his hands, turning to face Lassiter. The metal of the cuffs dug into her skin. “Henry? I don’t think the game is going to end the way you think it will.”
Lassiter paused in sharpening a knife. He turned his head and his eyes blazed blue. “What are you doing?” He tossed the knife on the table and strode toward them, tripping in his haste, but quickly regaining his balance.
“She’s mine,” Angus said, tightening his grip.
Nari panicked and grabbed at his hands. Her legs hung free so she could kick back, but she forced herself to dangle.
Lassiter smiled. “You wouldn’t kill her. Give me a break.”
Angus tightened his hold even more, and Nari coughed, her breath cut off. She struggled, her legs slipping uselessly against his.
“No,” her mom cried, grabbing at Angus’s arm.
Angus dropped Nari and she landed on her feet, wobbling. He roared out and swung, hitting her mom in the face with an elbow. Her mom crashed into the bars and went down.
Nari turned toward her, and Angus grabbed her again, lifting her up easily. God, he was strong. Tears flowed down her face; she couldn’t see her mom.
