Aspen
Run. Just run.
I whisper it over and over, like maybe if I say it enough, I’ll actually believe I can make it in time. Like it’ll drown out the panic clawing up my throat.
Dante.
His name is a scream in my chest.
My eyes blur with tears. I don’t stop. My heart’s pounding so hard it feels bruised, like it might just give out and leave me here, brokenin the dirt.
How did everything fall apart so fast?
Shit—
The ground slams into me before I can catch myself. My hands scrape against rock and dirt, the sting making everything sharper. I try to push up, but pain lights up every inch of me. For a second, I just stay there, stunned. Maybe if I pretend I’m invisible, the world will stop.
I want to disappear. Just melt into the earth and be done.
I can’t do this again, I already lost my family once, and now… now I’ve lost the only people who made the world almost feel normal again.
Roman’s words slice through my memory like a blade. “I want the code to the weapons and the girl.”
It’s him I hear when I try to take a deep breath. When I try not to cry. When I wish I could still believe there’s a way out of this hell.
And the shot. God, theshot.
All I can think is, what if that was it? What if that was the end of us?
I know this is reckless. Stupid.
Running straight toward the monster in the dark? I’d slap someone else for being this stupid.
Roman isn’t going to keep his word. Even if I hand myself over, he’d never let Dante go. He’s using him like a human leash, keeping Knox, Max, and Ryker back just long enough to twist the knife deeper.
And we’re outgunned. Outnumbered, but I still want to wrapmy hands around Roman’s throat and make him pay.
Heshot herlike she was nothing, and then he took her body. Why? What the hell does he want with her?
And Ethan? How could he juststand there?
I still don’t want to believe Roman killed him too.
Breathe, Aspen. Breathe.
I squeeze my eyes shut, but all I see is blood. Her face. The tears.
The radio makes a clicking sound, and my fingers fumble as I grab it, pressing the button, but nothing happens.
“Hello?” I whisper.
Silence.
Another click, just static.
“Knox?” My voice cracks, hope clinging to the name like a lifeline.
“No, princess.” My heart stops.
