Page 165 of Endless Anger
“You had it under control,” Alistair says, leaning against the wall.
Dad walks to Foxe, bending for an inspection, and I hear him curse again as I drag Tiernan’s body off to the side.
“He’s alive,” Dad says, his fingers pressed to Foxe’s neck. “But we’ve got to get him outnow.”
Before anyone can move, a gunshot rings through the air, shattering the illusion that maybe we were leaving unscathed. Dad clutches his chest as he’s hit, gritting his teeth and staggering against the table.
“Dad!” My shout echoes off the walls as another gunshot sends us into darkness. I duck, diving behind Tiernan’s corpse, and yank Lucy along with me.
Nobody moves or makes a sound. The atmosphere tightens, thickening around us as my eyes slowly adjust. I don’t see a third figure anywhere, so they must be lurking strategically.
Lucy flips onto her hands and knees. She starts to crawl away, and I hook my fingers around her ankle, stopping her.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I hiss, trying to drag her back.
She kicks at me. “I can see really well right now. I spent way too much time in the dark at the Obeliskos this semester, and my eyes are adjustingbetter from it, I guess. I’m going to go undo Foxe’s restraints and check on your dad.”
“Lucy, no. Absolutely the fuck not.”
Her grin tears my heart into pieces. “I wasn’t asking permission,pretty boy.”
Nostrils flaring, I release her and ball my hands into fists, casting my gaze back around the cavern, searching for the slightest movement. A breeze floats in from behind me, and I turn, keeping crouched low as I make my way toward it.
I feel an electric cord and follow the length, hoping it leads to some sort of light. Alistair has his, but I’m sure he’s keeping it off so as not to draw attention to himself.
My hand brushes something smooth and hard, distinctly leather, and I pause. Lifting my chin, I look up, tracing a figure standing just inches from my body.
Shock strikes my chest, and I blink, trying to register what’s happening but unable to do so. The clear mouth of a gun presses against my temple, and I swallow, cursing the entire fucking universe for my absolute shit luck.
I close my eyes, but they pop back open when an ear-piercing shriek snaps across the cavern, whipping against me. A flashlight shines on the masked figure as Lucy launches herself at it, bringing a fucking sledgehammer up over her body before swinging it into the guy’s head.
He crumples instantly, and I scramble to my feet, blinking with my mouth agape as Lucy drops the tool and stares at him. She blinks too, like she isn’t quite sure what she just did. I wrap a hand around her neck and kiss the fuck out of her.
She makes an excited noise in the back of her throat when my tongue parts her lips, but then she smacks me, shoving me toward the masked man as he tries to stand.
Planting my knee in his gut, I take out my knife again and hold it beneath his chin, ripping the mask off in a single flick.
Lucy gasps. “Eli?”
He coughs, straining against me, blood pouring from where the sledgehammer tore a chunk from his scalp. His eyes are vibrating. “Fuck, just kill me. Please.”
“Oh, I’m going to.” I push a little harder, the tip of my blade sinking into his skin.
“Wait!” Lucy says, grabbing my shoulder. She hesitates, and Eli’s green eyes find hers, devoid of even a hint of emotion. “What—why? I thought you were my friend.”
“Look, you don’t become a fucking Curator without getting some blood on your hands, all right? It wasn’t personal, and it didn’t start with you. Your roommate, she was collateral damage. An initiation. Me, Tiernan, and that other kid… What was his name? Tag?”
“Tagwas there that night?”
“He helped kill her. It was the three of us, although we brought a manipulated recording of Beckett to frame him in case anyone stumbled upon the scene. Imagine my surprise when it wasyou, Lucy. The girl who rarely even left her dorm wound up in the wrong place and time that night, so Tag decided to get close to you to see if you knew anything about it.” Eli scoffs. “Problem was Tiernan and I thought he was getting freaked out and wanted to confess to you, so we eliminated that problem as well.”
Lucy doesn’t say a word.
“My family has never taken me seriously, so I thought, why not sow contention between the founding families? Prey on Beckett’s dumb beliefs and have a little fun in the meantime.” He sizes Lucy up, cocking an eyebrow. “Too bad I didn’t get to finish. I had really big plans for you, if only?—”
A flick of my wrist sends the knife through his throat. He gurgles, reaching for me, before falling limp under my hold.
“Oops.”
