Kade stepped forward, holstering his gun and putting out his hands. One of the guards pressed a gun to the girl’s head. That had to be Lily; she resembled Badger, but with darker hair and bright-green eyes.
“Sarah, we can get you your sister, just give us Lily,” Kade said in a calm tone.
“You must think I’m stupid if you think I’m going to hand over my money-maker. Give me my sister and I willthinkabout giving you Lily. For a fair price, of course,” she sneered.
My stomach churned as I thought back to the target holding the bomb in front of my squad, using a toddler as a shield. Children had no business being part of adult crimes, but here we were.
“This place is set to blow in four minutes, so I would hurry up if I were you,” Sarah antagonized.
No way would she blow herself up. I wanted to call her bluff, but that would make the situation even worse.
Kade looked conflicted before nodding his head. Phantom must have said something into his earpiece.
Lily let out a whimper, making my blood boil as Sarah grabbed her by the hair and held her in place. She looked terrified. Like any good soldier, I knew when I could move, and right now our target was too unpredictable. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chief say something into his earpiece before he aimed his gun back at Sarah.
I watched as Kade stiffened when he heard the sounds of his other half walking into this pit of fire, immediately running to Phantom when she rounded the corner into the room. My body tensed as Sarah shoved Lily back to one of the guards andpointed her gun at Kade. I immediately aimed my gun at Sarah, who gave me a weary look.
“Best to stay on Machine’s good side, Sis,” Phantom said to her sister, cool and collected as she walked next to Kade.
Sarah pointed the gun at her sister.
“Shut up!” She looked at her watch. “Three minutes and seven seconds.”
“What do you want?” Phantom asked sharply.
“Tell your guard dogs to put their guns on the floor, and I will tell you,” Sarah bit back.
Phantom looked around the room, giving us all a nod. I hesitated, but I had been in hostage negotiations before and knew it was sometimes best to do what the captor wanted.
Sarah continued to point her gun at her sister. “Now, that’s better.”
“What do you want, Sarah?” Evelyn spat again.
Sarah growled. “You know why he chose me, right?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about, and I don’t care,” Evelyn baited.
“Daddy chose me because you were weak! You couldn’t handle the responsibility it takes to run his empire,” Sarah sneered.
“And why would you be proud of running his ‘empire’ when he is the one responsible for killing not only your real father but also hundreds of others?” Evelyn responded.
“You are missing the whole point. He was making the world a better place.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She was talking as if Anthony Ricci was some sort of martyr, not an evil, sadistic, man who deserved worse than the hottest pits of Hell.
“We are running out of time,what do you want, Sarah?” Evelyn growled, venom lacing her voice.
“If you want this little brat, you are going to have to pay. She’s of no use to me now.” Sarah aimed her gun at Lily, who began to cry silently. “If you don’t, she’s dead.”
“All of this for money!” Evelyn yelled. “She’s an innocent child! Are you really this far gone?”
“Don’t talk about things you know nothing about,” Sarah said.
“Fine, we’ll give you your money. How much?” I spoke up.
Sarah looked at me. “And who the fuck are you to agree to that?”
“Someone who you don’t want to fuck with. Now, how much?” The time was ticking away, and I needed to make sure everyone got out of here before the explosion hit. I would not lose people I care about, including Badger’s sister.
