Page 78 of Until the End

It was empty, the lights off.

“Two more are after me.” She scuttled down the steps of the outer aisle.

There was a back door that professors used. Kyle had mentioned that it led to the faculty parking lot. But if it was locked, she was screwed. Her heart was pounding too hard. She couldn’t keep running.

She needed to stall, find a way to buy herself time until help came.

Slipping down the center row of stadium seating, she crouched down.

“Where are you?” Castle asked.

“Auditorium. Please, hurry.”

Grunting in her ear—it had to be from Alistair grappling with the man he’d hauled into the maintenance closet—made it hard for Kit to pick up subtle sounds. He must be in trouble if he hadn’t had a chance to toggle off his earpiece.

The auditorium door creaked open. The tiny, sickening tap of the soft close that followed resonated in her chest.

Then there was silence. Every muscle tightened as she listened.

Those must’ve been good boots, not a single squeak. She had no idea where he was.

Tension threaded through her. She pressed her lips together, lowered her body closer to the floor. No need to make herself a bigger target.

Kit unsnapped the flap of her bag, slowly, and withdrew the handgun.

Compared to the sci-fi-looking gun Castle carried, this one looked like a toy. Still, it shook terribly in her hand. Adrenaline pumped air in and out of her lungs, bringing her to the verge of hyperventilating.

She put a hand to her stomach, trying to settle the quivering. Down between the rows of seats, she shifted her gaze and the barrel of the raised weapon from one side to the other, praying Castle reached her in time.

Steady, she told herself. Hold the gun steady.

Seconds ticked by like agonizing minutes. Anxiety ratcheted up inside her. She warred against the instinct to get up and run. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

She didn’t want to die. How foolish to ever regret being alive. She simply didn’t want to outlive everyone she loved. To survive alone.

Emotions churned in her chest. She choked down the mix of desperation and despair. Forced herself to breathe, to prepare for whatever was to come.

Suddenly, it didn’t matter. Everything inside her froze.

The burly man crept to her row. His gaze burned right through her. His fist lifted, clenched around a gun, leveling it at her face. A controlled fierceness pulsed off him.

She aimed for his head and pulled the trigger.

Click. Click.

Her heart stumbled over the next beat. What was wrong with the gun? Why wasn’t it firing? Naked terror spiraled through her.

“Safety’s on.” He flashed a wry smile as his finger slid to the trigger.

26

“Wheeler, come in, this is Retrieval Seven,” a man said over the Zanteon comms in Castle’s left ear. “I’ve got her and the package.”

Castle hurried down the hall at a clipped pace. A few feet in front of him was a Zanteon contractor. Blond, thin, early twenties.

“Excellent. You get the ten grand bonus I promised. Did you open the package?” Wheeler asked.

“Negative, sir.”