Chapter 236

The words land somewhere before the fear does, my body going numb in a way that has nothing to do with the cold concrete under me and everything to do with the specific, horrible finality of what I just heard.

Kill the girl.

I hear the shift of fabric, the small mechanical click of a weapon being raised, and then cold metal presses flat against my temple.

Oh God. Is this really how I die?

I squeeze my eyes shut beneath the blindfold and try not to show fear as I count down my last seconds. I wonder how long my family would mourn me. I wonder if they’ll ever even find a body to mourn.

“Wait.”

Zeke’s voice cuts through the darkness. Loud and commanding in a way I’ve never once heard him use, not in five years of training sessions and quiet car rides and gentle corrections to my footwork.

I hear the footsteps by the door stop.

“Killing David Reid’s only daughter isn’t the message you think it is,” Zeke says firmly. “It won’t make him