Page 267 of Saving Her

“Then tell me.”

He laughs. “In time. Now don’t make me count. I’m growing impatient.” He cocks a brow, waiting one tense second, then another. “Fine, have it your way.” He lowers the barrel, aiming at Sebastian’s thigh, then pulls the trigger.

The gunshot blasts the air, ripping a scream from my throat.

Sebastian roars, falling to the floor and curling onto his side, desperately clutching at his right thigh. Luca falls, too, clasping his head, his face burying into the carpet.

I choke on a sob, the sight of their suffering far more punishing than any horror Luther ever inflicted.

“Penny, get the hell out of here.Now.” Sebastian struggles to get back up. “Run.”

“Fuckingrun.” Luca lashes out, the futile swipe of his arm knocking him off balance.

“Or you could drop the gun.” Robert smirks. “You already know you’re not going anywhere.”

He’s right.

My heart is in this room.

Slowly, I place the weapon on the step at my feet, my eyes blazing.

“Good girl. Now come down here and join us.”

“Don’t do it.” Luca pushes onto his hands and knees. “Please, Penny.”

I don’t think I’ve heard his desperation before.

He’s scared, and I can’t stand his fear. It rips me apart in the most agonizing torture.

“It’s okay.” I suck in a breath, blink away the threat of tears, and descend the stairs. “Robert doesn’t want to kill me.”

“Don’t.” Sebastian battles to get to his feet, hissing and wincing as he grabs at his injured leg. His black suit pants cling around the bullet wound, the blood seeping onto his boot, then the floor. “Get out of here.”

No. This is my domain. I know this monster better than they do. Neither of them stand a chance without me, and I refuse to live in a world without them. So we’re in this together.

Live or die.

“She was never going to leave,” Robert taunts. “She can’t walk away from those in need. She wants to be the savior, but like always, she’s the cause of the bloodshed. She was responsible for the death of hundreds of women through my pure frustration. Weren’t you, my sweet?”

I fight against the penetrating words, refusing to let them sink in as I reach the bottom of the stairs.

“If you would’ve stopped manipulating Luther and become like every other slave, many lives would’ve been saved,” he continues. “But you had to be better than everyone, didn’t you?

“They still would’ve been used and discarded,” I whisper. “The only difference is that I would’ve joined them.”

I return my attention to Luca, a knife twisting in my gut at the sight of his ashen skin. He’s hurting, badly, but I can’t see an injury. “What did he do to you?”

“Forget about me.” He sits back on his haunches. “Save yourself.”

“It’s time to hurry this along, pretty Penny. We don’t have all night.” Robert inches closer, his guns trained on the back of Luca and Sebastian’s heads. “We’re going to play a game. One where you get to choose which one of them lives and which one dies.”

More sobs clog my throat, the building sorrow tattooing my heart. “You’ll kill them both no matter what I do.”

“I promise I won’t. You know why?”

I shake my head.

He smirks. “Because watching you live with the guilt for the rest of your life will be fucking bliss.”

---