She paused to smile, and the evil behind it left Becca ice-cold. “That’s sad. You know we never meant to hurt you—Jay and I—we just couldn’t fight it anymore. He said you were a mistake. That he loved me. Wanted me. Go ahead. Tell him the truth, tell him how you set him up, and I’ll let Nik go so the two of you can scamper off together. I’ll even give you a ride. Wouldn’t that be nice? This way we both get what we want.”
Maya let Nik go, and reaching to her side, she pulled the gun from the holster on her hip. “I get Jay and the code for Dominion.” She pressed the muzzle to the side of Nik’s head. “And you get your lover, brain intact, and a second chance at a normal life. What do you say? Win/win?”
Horror filled her as her sister’s words sank deep, and realization set in. “She’s lying!” Becca cried, tearing her eyes from Nik’s terrified face to focus on the man in front of her. “I didn’t set you up!” Her fingers curled into the armholes of his vest. “I’m not after revenge, I swear! I’ve never been with Nik. He’s not my lover, Jay. He’s?—”
“Shh, baby.” He dropped his hands to cover hers. “She’s messing with us. Using words as weapons to try to divide and conquer. We have to stick to the plan. Get her to come inside. Can you do that?”
Fear stealing her voice, she nodded.
“Okay, let’s do this. Big breath…” He squeezed her fingers, inhaled deep, and released.
She felt her lungs do the same, and compartmentalizing her emotions, she let his steady presence ground her. Another breath, and the ache in her chest eased enough to let her think. One chance. She had one shot to get Maya where they needed her.
If she messed this up, Nik would die. Maybe the rest of them too.
She nodded at Jay. Signaled she had her shit together. He released her, and she pivoted toward the surveillance equipment. Heart still pounding louder than Maya’s taunts, she pressed the button on the mic and spoke to her sister directly.
“That wasn’t the deal,” she said, forcing her voice to stay firm. “Johnson gets the key to Dominion, and I get you. Nik’s not my lover, and he has nothing to do with this.”
Maya tilted her head, eyes gleaming with cruel amusement as she pressed the barrel harder against his temple. “Is that so? From where I’m standing, he has a lot to do with this. Don’t you think?”
Becca clenched her fists. “Fine, bring him inside with you, and we’ll renegotiate a two-for-one deal. You and Nik for the key.”
“Inside?” Maya scoffed, her voice cutting through the thick air like a blade. “Do you think I’m stupid? You should know better than to test my resolve. We’re using basic math here. One-for-one. It’s simple. Send Jay out here right now, or Nik dies. Your choice.”
“I don’t think you’re stupid, Maya. I think you’re scared. You know you can’t win. That’s why you dragged Nik into this. You know I’ll never give you Jay, and you only get the code to Dominion if I get what I want in return, and that’s you. So, tell me, what’ll Johnson do to you if he doesn’t get the outcome you promised him?”
“Ooo…finally decided to grow a spine, did you?” Maya’s expression darkened, her lips thinning as her grip on the gun tightened. “I suggest you be careful with your newfound bravado, sissy. Keep pushing, and I might just decide lover boy’s brain isn’t worth the trouble of saving after all.”
“Wait!” Becca yelled, and before she could start begging for Nik’s life, Jay took her finger off the mic, cutting off communication.
“Hey. Look at me.” His voice low but firm, he hooked her by the chin and pulled her gaze to his. “You can do this. Convince her to come inside, and this’ll all be over in a few minutes.”
“I can’t,” she whispered.
“You can,” he replied, his dark eyes searching the depths of her soul. “Lean into her delusions. Make her believe she’s right. That you were after revenge, and she can have me, but only if she comes inside with Nik. Okay?”
She nodded, he let her go, and hand shaking, she hovered her finger over the mic while beads of sweat rolled down her face. God! She wanted to force the lies out. She did. But they were stuck in her throat, refusing to budge.
Her ears rang and her vision tunneled. She shook her head to clear it.
No.
Conviction settled in her bones, hardening her from the inside out. Maya was too smart to fall for a bait and switch. There was only one path forward with her sister. One emotion she responded to.
Envy—it’d always been and always would be—what drove Maya to act.
The past haunting her present, a thunderclap of emotion rolled through her. Grief. Rage. Betrayal. Fear. She tamped them down, stuffed them into their individual boxes, and locked the lids down tight.
In their absence, realization set in, and something colder filled her empty spaces. She had to end this. No matter the cost. This wasn’t about her. Or Jay. Or Nik. Or even Maya. Not anymore. This had morphed into something bigger than all of them combined.
This was about stopping Dominion. The future of humankind. Little Halia and the billions of children like her. Nothing else mattered. Not anymore.
She keyed the mic. “You want Jay, Maya? Fine. Come and get him, because you know as well as I do, you’re holding the wrong hostage. I won’t give him up for Nik, and as for Jay, he doesn’t want you. He’s never wanted you. I’m the one he came for. I’m the one he still loves. You tried to separate us, but nothing’s changed. You’re still second best, and you always will be.”
Caught off guard by the change in tactics, Maya’s brow creased with her frown, and her bored expression turned to rage. “Say that again, I dare you.” She stepped behind Nik and moving the gun to the back of his head, she used the barrel to shove his chin to his chest.
“Jay would’ve never chosen you. Not before me. Not after me. Not then. And certainly not now. No matter what you do, no matter who you manipulate, who you kill, who you rape. You lose. You’ll always lose, because you’re not good enough, and you never will be.”
