“Run,” he demands. He wrenches the gun from Clayton somehow, but Clayton uses his mammoth muscles to fight back beneath Cole.
Clayton gives up on the gun and whips out a knife from his knee pocket. He takes the hilt and smashes it across Cole’s face.
My heart stops. My clammy hands wrench into fists.
Cole loses his composure long enough for Clayton to gain the upper hand.
Next thing I know, Clayton has the knife at Cole’s neck.
I am frozen with fear, shame, and the promise of unrealized dreams.
“Please,” Cole says. “Go.” Blood spurts from his lip.
“I won’t.”
“Are you sure you want to watch him die like you did Keegan? If not, I suggest you close your eyes.” Clayton presses his knife against the skin of Cole’s throat.
Cole begs with his eyes—the eyes of the man who stole my heart. The eyes of the one who guarded me against his will and offered up his life for mine several times. I feel my jaw clenching as I try to think of a way we can both get out of this alive.
“Wait!” I shout. Clayton’s eyes flick to me. “Don’t you want to know where Sutton is? We can take you to him. But if Cole loses so much as a hair on his head, you get nothing. No Sutton. No Lexi. Nothing.”
Despite my shaky voice, I keep talking, gradually taking control of it. Clayton bends his head back down, ready to slit Cole’s throat.
“Cole’s been keeping it a secret. Even from me,” I say fast. Almost too quickly. But Clayton can’t help himself. He pauses, interest flickering through his eyes.
“What’s this now?” Clayton asks. “Our Cole does like to keep his secrets. Did he tell you the one about your father?”
“What about him?” I ask, worried about the look on Cole’s face.
“Tsk. Tsk. Shame on you, Cole. You haven’t told your little princess about her sweet daddy.”
He’s screwing with my head.
“Of course he’s told me,” I lie, trying not to alter my expression. What the hell is he talking about?
Cole’s pained face reads my expression, and he has to know I’m trying to stall Clayton.
Keep talking.
I slowly inch my feet forward.
“Take another step, and I’ll slit his throat.” Clayton jabs Cole’s skin, and a small stream of blood races down Cole’s neck.
I can’t let on that Clayton’s getting to me or that Cole hasn’t told me a thing about my dad. I can’t look at Cole, vulnerable and bleeding.
“Go right ahead, then my secret dies with me,” Cole says.
“Then tell that bitch to stay where she is.”
“Don’t move, all right?” Cole strains against the knife.
“All right.” I lock my feet in place, feeling the sweat drip down my back.
“Put your hands in the air where I can see them!” Clayton commands.
“Get your knife off his throat,” I say. “And we’ll go with you willingly. Think about it. Wilson will have no choice but to promote you if you deliver me, Cole, and Sutton.”
“You’re lying. The minute I let my guard down, the two of you will be all over me. Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Find Sutton, and you find the key to the resistance,” Cole says between gasps.
“My orders are my orders. Screw you, and screw Sutton.”
“No!” I scream. In one fluid move, I yank a knife from my waist and whip it across the room at Clayton’s head.
Please, let me throw true this time.
Time passes in slow motion.
The knife spins end over end, flying toward Clayton’s ruddy face.
Before he has time to react, it strikes him right in his left eye. He grabs at the knife and his head and moans in agonizing pain. Blood swallows the hilt and trickles over Cole’s head.
Cole falls forward on all fours, breathing heavy. Clayton falls to the floor, wrenching and screaming. For a moment, I think he might try to pull the knife out of his eye and stab Cole with it.
I crawl to Cole and pull him into a quick embrace. I swear he’s crying. Or maybe it’s me. But we kneel, covered in blood and holding each other tight. Blood from Clayton surrounds us on the floor, and I know he doesn’t have long.
Cole shakes his head at the sight of Clayton who lies bleeding out and dying on the floor. Cole turns to me and kisses me with desperation and understanding. We’ve earned that kiss.
“Let’s go,” he says, dragging my nearly spent body into a standing position. He gathers our weapons from the floor and says, “More will follow.”
Out of the corner of my eye, a shadow crosses the window.
Before I can think, we’re sprinting out the front door and into the sand dunes behind the beach house. I look over my shoulder and see the guards jumping out of a car, aiming their guns at us.
“Follow me!” Cole screams.
I snap my head forward and run zigzag. We finally hit the tall grass, and we’re out of their sights.
Everything is a blur.
But I’ve got to keep going.
I run, unsure of how my legs continue to hold me up. My eyes burn; I blink hard, but there’s no relief. I can barely catch my breath. I don’t even know where I’m going. I’m just following Cole’s bloody figure as it scales the terrain in front of me.
That was too close.