Page 161 of Dark Duet: Platinum Edition

“Help him!”

Hearing Caleb’s voice, knowing he was fighting to stay alive only a few feet away, seemed to clear some of my panic.

“The gun, Livvie. The gun. Where is it?”Ruthless said.

I took several deep breaths, frantic breaths, as I tried to remember. Where was the gun? Where was the gun? In the bag!

“Good, Livvie. Where’s the bag?”

I sobbed loudly. “I don’t know.”

A string of loud and angry shouting came through the door. I didn’t understand it, but I knew it was Arabic. They’d come for us. Rafiq was here to kill us.

“The bag!” Ruthless screamed.

Images. They flashed through my mind’s eye in rapid succession: I brought the bag in. I set it down on the table. Caleb picked it up and took it into the bathroom. He needed a butterfly stitch for his head. It was in there when I showered.

I looked around the bathroom, but I didn’t see it.

It was there when I went to bed. Caleb and I had sex and after, he wanted clean underwear. Next to the bed on Caleb’s side.

“Get there, Livvie. Get to the gun,”Ruthless said.

I shook my head back and forth as I sobbed. I didn’t know what was out there. If I opened the door…

“They already know you’re in here! You’re going to die.Calebis going to die. Please!”

I scrambled out of the tub. The bathroom was tiny; my foot still touched the edge of the tub as I put my hand against the door. I could still hear Caleb fighting someone on the other side.

“I’m coming out!” I screamed.

“No!” Caleb yelled, and there was a loud crash.

I gripped the handle of the door and pulled it open. The clothing rack was directly across from the bathroom, creating a little square alcove to the side of the bedroom. I could see Caleb on the floor, grappling with someone.

“Run, Livvie!”

I stood up and tried to run past them and get on the bed. A hand reached out and grabbed my ankle. I fell face first onto the floor, but the pain didn’t register. I kicked with my legs, blind to what or whom I was hitting. The hand let go.

I looked back and saw blood. Caleb’s head was down. There was a loud, panicked scream and the person under Caleb pulled at his hair to wrench him backward. Caleb’s mouth opened on a scream and blood came spurting out.

The screams continued, one after the other.

I froze. The screaming. I couldn’t take the screaming.

Caleb’s body was suddenly thrown toward the alcove. I didn’t recognize our attacker. His face gushed with blood and a flap of skin hung from his cheek.

I screamed.

The man was still screaming as he threw himself on top of Caleb. He was beating his head into the floor.

I forced myself to move. I scrambled toward the bed, frantically running my hands underneath and feeling for the bag. It was there! I pulled it out and dumped it out on the floor. The gun came toppling out and I gripped it. It went off. I hit myself in the face with the back of my hand.

“Livvie!” Caleb yelled. The sound was a wet gurgle.

I regrouped quickly and held the gun in both hands. I pulled the hammer back and my hands trembled as I pointed it at the man on top of Caleb. “Get off him! Now!”

He turned to look at me, the flap of skin on his face just hanging there as blood gushed out, one heavy spurt after another. He rushed me and I squeezed the trigger. The force toppled me. My vision blurred for a couple of seconds. I scrambled backward on my hands, searching for the gun behind me.