Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“I’m going in there,” Roman announces. He looks back at the two of us, gripping each other like our lives depend on it. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“But I have to see!” Sophie insists. He reaches back and touches her cheek before shaking his head firmly.
“It’s going to be all right,” he insists before getting out and joining the rest of the team. I have never needed to believe something so much in my whole life. Luna doesn’t deserve to suffer.
Every second is a lifetime, but it’s not long before Roman reappears at the top of the stairs. I recognize the look on his face as he stalks across the courtyard, because I’ve seen it so many times from the men in my life — my brother, my dad, Ren. He’s ready to kill, which tells me he didn’t find anything good in the house. But he doesn’t look devastated, either, which gives me hope Luna is still alive.
Sophie almost climbs over the seat to get to him as soon as he’s opened the door. “Well? What did you find?”
Instead of answering, he thrusts a crumpled piece of paper into her hand. He had it clutched so tightly, I didn’t notice he was holding it until now. Her hands tremble as she smooths it out so we can read what’s printed in big, block letters.
Ren in exchange for Luna - R
“They killed Frank.” Roman’s voice is flat, empty. “Shot him in the back of the head. The note was on Luna’s bed. That’s all we found in there.”
Anything else he might have wanted to say is drowned out by Sophie’s heartbroken sobs.
Ren stares down at the note while the rest of us watch. I can’t stop shivering, rubbing my arms like that will do anything to calm the goosebumps that won’t stop prickling my skin. He’s too quiet. The sort of quiet that chills me to the bone. What’s he thinking?
“I guess we don’t need to ask what R stands for,” he mutters, breaking the silence. The deep, almost feral anger in his voice makes my heart beat double time. He sounds as close to River as he ever has right now, like he’s dangling on the edge between the two personalities. I don’t want to set him off—that’s the last thing we need, especially with Sophie sniffling in Roman’s arms. She can’t see that. It would break her after everything she’s already been through today.
“We know what we have to do, then.” Ren looks at Dad, who draws a deep breath before responding with a nod.
“Wait. What do you have to do?” My head swings back and forth between them. I hate when people have silent conversations in front of me, and the stakes here make it so much worse. “Somebody talk to me, or I’m going to scream.”
That’s still not enough to get an answer out of anybody. Ren grips the bars, still clutching the note. “Let me out. Let me be part of this.”
Now I get it. My insides go all cold and an uneasy feeling creeps up before I blurt out, “You can’t! This is a trap!” I look at Dad, desperate for him to back me up, but all I see is resignation in his dark eyes. No, this can’t be. “This is her way of getting to Ren, obviously. You can’t just walk into that!” It doesn’t seem to matter how I shout or how much sense I make. I may as well not be here.
Out of desperation, I grab Dad’s arm, squeezing until he looks down at me. “Dad, please. I love Luna, you know I do. But this would be giving Rebecca what she wants. It’s too risky.”
“The risk doesn’t matter,” Ren insists. “I don’t matter as much as Luna does.”
No, no, he can’t say that. He can’t believe it. This is a nightmare. Somebody needs to wake me up. “But—”
“I can’t let her be there for another minute!” Ren is red faced and shaking. “Don’t you get that? I’m not letting her suffer. If I have to go and exchange myself for her, that’s what I’m doing.”
“You know we would never let that happen.” Dad’s voice is firm, and it has the power to give me a little bit of hope. If he’s sure Ren will make it out of this, I can almost believe he will.
“There needs to be a plan,” I plead. I look at Roman and Sophie, and they both nod in agreement.
“We know you love your sister,” Roman tells him. “But she wouldn’t want you risking yourself.”
“Of course, we’re going to plan this out.” Though Dad leaves out the obvious part: there’s not much time. He doesn’t need to say it. We all feel it weighing on us with every tick of the clock. Ren is practically beside himself, breathing hard, staring at the floor with his hands still wrapped around the iron bars. Please, hold it together. Please, stay with me.