Page 59 of The Forbidden Secret

I nodded slowly, hesitating before I dropped the knife. He couldlive.He would be there for Beatrice as she deserved, and she would be cared for and safe. She would finally have someonein her corner, even if it wasn’t me. Zeke would finally have a relationship that meant something.

And the price wasme.

Maybe Jaimie had been on to something with the self-sacrificing bullshit. But I saw no alternative. If he killed Zeke, I would be in the same position.

I took a deep breath as I stepped toward him. “If you don’t—”

He was fast as he rushed forward and grabbed my arm. His grip was bruising as he raised a hand and slapped me across the face. My ears rang with the force of the blow, loud enough that I couldn’t make out the words that Zeke shouted from where he had been tied in the center of the room.

“You have no bargaining power here,” he snarled down at me, the cool façade of this powerful man giving way to a rage that I had caused with all my time of running. “Especially after you forced me to use so many resources to find you.”

He dragged me backward toward the garage door, and I stumbled along with him, barely able to keep my feet under myself as his guard pulled me along, too.

“I’ll fucking kill you, bastard,” Zeke shouted. “If you take her, you are signing your own fucking death warrant.”

I spared only one small glance back at him. He frantically fought the bindings, cursing and doing everything in his power to get free. We both knew the odds. Once I was gone, there would be no returning. If Clide Newton finally got me, I would be hidden so deeply that nobody would stand a chance of hearing from me again.

Maybe once we got out of this room and away from Zeke, I could do something…

“You’ll kill me?” Clide asked, pausing for just a moment as he looked at Zeke.

I didn’t expect the hit.

I dropped as his fist collided with my face, and then a booted foot kicked me in the stomach hard enough that air flew from my lungs. I coughed as Clide laughed.

“I can do whatever I want to this bitch.”

I sobbed through the throbbing in my face and stomach, and even as he jerked my arm to pull me upright, I couldn’t bring myself to stand. Not without a shooting pain that sent me cowering.

“No, you can’t,” Jaimie said.

The guard raised his gun, and I didn’t give myself a moment to consider. Not evenone.I hurled my body into him, forcing myself to ignore the pain of his body colliding with mine as I broke from Clide’s grip and sent the guard off balance.

I stayed on top of him, refusing to allow him access to the gun that clattered to the ground. I kicked it away with one last burst of resilience before the guard shoved me off him and into the wall.

I closed my eyes as pain ripped through me. All of my decisions and choices came to an apex as I heard Jaimie fighting behind me, grunting and moving swiftly enough that I knew she would stand a chance. I didn’t want to move, but Clide was still armed, and she had already exerted herself too much by taking down half a dozen other men.

I forced myself to turn onto my back and look over at where Jaimie fought.

I glanced past her at Zeke. He stood no chance of getting free, even as he thrashed relentlessly. Even as he looked at where I lay on the ground, shouting for me to hold on. I didn’t know why he was acting like I was dying. I imagined I had a broken rib, maybe two. I knew my face would bruise.

But as I coughed and splatters of blood came from my lips, I knew it was far more serious than that, and somehow Zeke had sensed it.

Jaimie cried out and hunched over in time for Clide to send a powerful punch into her gut. The guard had fallen, a blade through his heart. But Jaimie was losing steam. She didn’t seem capable of continuing, though she still tried. I opened my mouth to say something, but there was nothing I could do. I could hardlymove,let alone help.

My eyes drifted around the room, looking for anything that would allow me to make a last stand.

The guard’s gun sat a few inches from my fingertips.

I ground my teeth as I dragged myself forward and grabbed the cool metal.

Clide reached for his own gun as Jaimie fought to stand up. He aimed it and pulled back the hammer.

I wouldn’t let this happen.

Icouldn’tlet it happen.

I lifted the gun and pulled the trigger.

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