Tomaso reached slowly for his gun. Every muscle in my body tensed.
"Silas, since you care about them so much, I'll give you a choice." His gun barrel moved back and forth between Anthea and Olei, eyes crazed and cruel. "Your woman or your son. You can only save one. The other gets to keep my guys company in hell."
Vanessa stood to the side, arms crossed, smiling viciously.
"You're insane." I stared at him, forcing my voice to stay level.
"I am insane!" Tomaso roared, voice full of derangement. "Choose! You have five seconds, or I kill them both!"
My mind raced, searching for any possible opening. Tomaso had completely lost it—he would actually pull the trigger. And Julian... that waste was useless.
My gaze landed on Anthea. She was looking at me too, eyes holding both fear and trust. Even in this desperate situation, she stillbelieved I could save them. That trust made my heart ache with guilt. I'd put her and Olei in this position.
Wait. Her hands... I watched carefully and saw her wrists moving slightly. She was using the edge of the chair to saw through the rope binding her.
Our eyes met. In that brief instant, without words, I understood what she meant. She'd gotten free.
Anthea
From the moment they'd tied me to this godforsaken place, I hadn't stopped struggling. I'd been using a sharp edge on the back of the chair to saw through the rope around my wrists. The rough hemp scraped my skin raw, but I bit down and kept going.
Now the last fiber snapped, and my hands were free. I carefully gripped the loose rope, pretending I was still bound, and looked up at Silas. His gaze swept over me. His pupils contracted slightly.
He saw it.
"I choose—" Before Silas could finish, he lunged at Tomaso.
The gun flew from Tomaso's hand as the two men crashed together.
"Damn it!" Vanessa shrieked, snatching up the gun from the floor and trying to aim at Silas, but the two men were locked together—she couldn't get a clear shot.
Now. I rushed forward and tackled Vanessa from behind. She screamed as the gun flew from her grip.
"You bitch—" She struggled to flip over, sharp nails clawing at my face, but I pinned her down hard. Six years hadn't been wasted—my strength and reflexes were far beyond what they'd once been.
"Julian!" Vanessa screamed at the man standing frozen nearby. "Pick up the gun! Kill Silas!"
My heart plummeted. If he actually shot... I fought to hold Vanessa down, watching Julian from the corner of my eye, my heart in my throat.
Julian walked toward the gun. He bent down, picked it up, and slowly raised it.
No...
"You never planned to let Anthea live, you bastards!" Julian did something I never expected. He pointed the gun at Vanessa.
I exhaled, finally able to breathe.
"What are you doing?" Vanessa shrieked. "Are you insane? Put the gun down!"
"Stop struggling, or I'll shoot." Julian made a show of pressing his finger toward the trigger.
"You worthless piece of shit!" Vanessa cursed furiously but didn't dare move.
I took the chance to bind Vanessa's hands with the rope I'd freed myself from. Vanessa cursed me with the foulest language she could muster. I ignored her. Finally, I had time to pull the gag from my mouth and gulp down fresh air.
"Julian, watch her." I turned and ran to Olei.
Julian followed, gun still trained on Vanessa.
