Page 125 of You Only Love Twice
And Malloryn was the most dangerous one of them all. She couldn't believe it.
Was he...? Was he dead?
"What do we do?" she asked Byrnes.
A certain sort of coldness came over his expression, as he turned to meet Gemma. "We stop her."
"No!" Ingrid grabbed his arm, a growl erupting from her throat. "No."
"We don't have a choice," he snapped. "You saw her. She won't hesitate. Malloryn was right; she's lethal. And if we try to take her down without harming her, then she'll kill us." His voice tightened. "She'll kill you, Ingrid. I saw it in her eyes. And I can't allow that."
Ingrid's heart raced, as her thoughts started shifting. Becoming one with the wild inside her.Friend, beat the pulse of her verwulfen heart.Gemma was a friend.
"No," she said, feeling the wild bleed into her eyes, as everything sped up just a little. "I've got an idea of how to bring her out of this. Stall her."
The hallway circled the interior of the Tower. The only way down was past Gemma—or via the elevation chamber.
"Ingrid!"
"Stall her," she shot over her shoulder. Without her in the line of fire, he'd be able to focus his full attention on taking Gemma down. "And don't get hurt."
Then she was racing down the other branch of the double staircase, away from Gemma, heading for the elevation chamber.
And the one chance any of them had of getting out of this alive without having to kill Gemma.
* * *
Gunfire echoedthrough the hollow core of the Tower.
Obsidian stared up through the interior, his heart beating a little faster. Something was going on. People yelled, and the odd scream punctuated the air, followed by another burst of gunfire.
He pushed his palm against his forehead, his other wrist forced to rise thanks to the cuffs, as he heard that static buzzing in his ears.
Gemma was up there.
And someone was firing his frequencies.
"What the hell is going on?" Charlie whispered, stepping forward into the circle of light that fell through a nearby window and looking up. He unholstered his pistol as lights began ticking through the elevation chamber box.Level six. Level five. Level four....Someone was coming down.
"We need to get up there," Obsidian rasped.
The other man shot him a smoky look. "The last place I'm taking you is anywhere near the queen."
"You don't understand," he snarled, pushing his finger against his forehead hard enough to make his skull ache. "Someone's firing the frequencies. I'll bet my life the Chameleon is up there. And so is Gemma."
Charlie stared at him.
"If she dies," he promised softly, "there's not a damned thing in this world that can stop me from killing you."
Charlie glanced at the descending elevation chamber, and then swore under his breath. "I'll go. You're staying here." He gestured toward a nearby door, fumbling with the keys to the handcuffs. "I'm going to chain you to that door. I strongly suggest you don't—"
Obsidian moved like lightning, slamming his elbow up under Charlie's chin.
Charlie's head snapped back, and he hit the floor hard.
Obsidian knelt on his chest in a single fluid motion and grabbed him by the throat. "Don't get up."
He helped himself to the keys, unlocking his right cuff.
