Elias laughs, a dry, hacking sound that sets my teeth on edge. He shakes his head, finally shifting his gaze to me, and there’s a cruel pity in his expression.
“I make the plans,” he says. “And there’s a fifty-thousand-dollar reward for the safe return ofthatgirl. Fifty large, Peterson. That’s more than you’re carrying in that bag, and a hell of a lot less heat than smuggling a fugitive like you across the line.”
I shift my weight, my heart hammering. “I don’t give a shit about the reward. We go.Now.”
“No.” Elias pulls a snub-nosed revolver from his waistband with a practiced flick of the wrist. He levels it at my chest, but his eyes stay glued to Rue. “I’m not taking you anywhere. You’re dead weight. I’m takingher. I turn her in at the border station, I play the hero, and I collect the check. You? You can stay here and rot in the dirt for all I fucking care.”
The betrayal is absolute. I feel Rue flinch behind me, her hand grabbing the back of my shirt. The atmosphere shifts from tense to lethal in the heartbeat it takes for Elias to thumb back the hammer of his gun.
“Give me the girl,” he sneers. “Or I’ll just kill you and tell ‘em I rescued her from your corpse.”
62
RUE
The world shrinksuntil it is nothing but the glint of the moon on the barrel of Elias’s revolver. The air is thick with desert dust and the scent of death, which I’m almost positive is just in my head.
Noah is a wall of tension in front of me, his hand hovering near his own waist, but I can see the math playing out in his head. He’s too far away. Elias is already cocked. One twitch and Noah’s blood will soak into the thirsty Arizona dirt.
“Step away from him, Rue,” Elias sneers, his eyes darting to me with a sickening, possessive greed. “Come get in the van. Walk away, and you get to live. He stays here. Where he belongs.”
“Rue, don’t move,” Noah growls at me.
But I’m already moving.
For months, I’ve carried the weight of every life we’ve touched like stones in my pockets. I’ve shuddered at the sight of blood and made a mess anyway. I’ve fought the darkness and tried to make up for all my wrongs.
But I’m done with that.
My hand dives into the pocket of Noah’s oversized hoodie. My fingers find the grip of the Colt .45. It’s heavy—so much heavier than it looks—and the metal is ice-cold against my palm.
I don’t hesitate. I don’t overthink the morality of it. I don’t think about the girl I used to be. I only think about the man in front of me and the fact that I will not let him die for my sins.
I pull the gun.
And I level it with a steady, terrifying calm that surprises even me. The click of the hammer as I pull it back is the loudest fucking sound in the desert.
“Drop it,” I say, my voice as cold as my heart.
Elias freezes. The sneer falters, replaced by a flicker of genuine shock. He looks at me—and must realize he isn’t staring at a victim anymore.
It’s me. I’m the fucking predator.
“Rue, easy,” Noah breathes, his eyes wide as he looks at me over his shoulder.
“Drop the gun, Elias,” I repeat, taking a step forward. I put myself in the light, the barrel of the Colt aimed directly at the center of the coyote’s chest. “I’ve already lost everything. You think I’m afraid to add you to the list? Put it on the ground, or I swear to God, I’ll take that reward money off the table myself.”
Elias hesitates, his finger twitching on the trigger. “You’re fucking up.” He slowly lowers the revolver, kneeling to place it in the dirt. However, he peers up at me, a wicked grin pulling at his lips. “Stupid girl,” he spats up at me, just as the van door swings open.
A man with a shotgun emerges.
Fuck you.
I fire two rounds, mercilessly, and the man with the gun falls. Noah rushes him, sweeping up the little revolver and firing another round into the gunman’s forehead.
I keep the barrel of mine at Elias. “Anyone else?”
He narrows his eyes at me, and as his lips part, I hear another gunshot from the little revolver. “Not anymore, I presume.”
