in's
h the dock like thunder c
nt, the wo
't fee
dn't
saw
en platform, soaking into
, Rico s
t
Beat
i
lutching his side. Blood
ssion twisted into c
ed: Rico had shifted
etraying me
the bullet
could take more than two steps, three guards raise
ove!" on
were locked on Rico, whose breathing grew shallow, l
toward him. "You were supposed to bring hi
ner of his mouth. "I... brought him... but
were wild, filled with panic, her mouth g
e, face twisted in disg
inside me had
y who cried beside h
the terri
the hunte
the
is hand to signa
bring it down, a b
o
ar end of the container
, confused. His men
ion followed, t
as D
plan, a distraction protocol we had crea
ing had gon
traight in the gut. His rifle fell. I grabbed it, turned, a
screaming thr
th from her mouth, and untied
e whispered, v
ways
from the floor and stood behi
on wa
d in th
still slumped on th
an t
tered open as
work?" he
" I said, grip
smirk but wi
wrong choices. But th
m, tears streaming. "We
he said, voice
m h
something i
lver
e behind the crates. Everything... everyth
ip wea
is hand slipp
was
have tim
th
from one of the containers. Darius emerged fr
in time to cause chaos
o," Darius sh
van we had hidden behind a stack of tires. Beatrice clim
oked behind through
s faded
st piece of R
w, a patch of land outside the city near th
pri
erem
st
the s
on his grave. "He saved
d. "He bought us tim
te. No date. Nothing to mark it in
ould re
ld live
er, I used t
midnight. The guards were minimal, clearly, Sampso
ers of crates, w
ocuments that co
ical bribes. Hit lists. A map of the city
ryt
it all, an envelope
a phot
unger Lor
e him...
nearly
the photo were
never mean
it to B
at it for a
everything," she whispe
re than frien
.. th
g," I said. "Somethi
es everything. My father didn't just
ce grew
to see h
es hard. "Then you'
ha
nsion. He trusts you. Even now, he's probably watching
d. "You're asking me t
elp stop a war. Befo
t reply r
she n
e what
ce returned to her
her from
n she w
o the li
now if she
knew t
r had