Page 115 of Silent Schemes

Will grits his teeth, lets Cyrus wrap the wound with a tourniquet torn from his own sleeve.

Sienna has Maya behind a barricade, hands pressed to the girl’s shoulder to slow the bleeding. “Stay with me, Maya. Just like the hunger games, okay? Don’t let go.” Her voice is ice, but her hands are gentle.

I scan for Theodore.

He’s not among the bodies.

I shoulder past the debris, climb over a heap of dead muscle, and spot him crawling toward the back exit, dragging Maya’s little pink bag behind him.

His leg is a mangled mess, foot barely attached.

He sees me coming and tries to raise his gun, but his hand is shaking too hard to aim.

“King!” he spits. “You can’t win. You’ll never?—”

I don’t listen. I kick the gun aside, grab him by the collar, and haul him upright.

He’s lighter than I expected. Hollow.

“Please,” he says. “We can make a deal.”

I drag him back to the center of the floor, where Sienna is tending Maya.

Blood covers her arms up to the elbow.

Theodore’s voice goes ragged. “She’s mine. You can’t take her from me. You can’t.”

Sienna looks up, hair wild, face splattered with gore. “You already lost,” she says. “Finish it.”

I nod.

“You can’t. You’re not a killer, Bane. You’re nothing. You’re?—”

I grab him by the throat, squeezing until his words die.

“I want you to know exactly why,” I rasp. “For every kid you threatened. For every time you made her bleed.” I jerk my chin at Sienna.

She watches, stone-faced.

I squeeze harder. “And for thinking you could take from me and live.”

Theodore’s eyes bulge.

He tries to claw at my hand, but there’s no strength left.

I could shoot him, but this is better.

I hold his gaze until the light goes out. Only then do I let him drop.

The silence after is the worst part. No one speaks. There’s nothing left to say.

Korrin limps over, shotgun resting on his shoulder. “You good?” he asks.

I don’t know how to answer, so I say nothing at all.

Will barely survives.

Cyrus makes the call, brings in the cleanup crew.