"Back off." Mitch rested his hand on my shoulder and met my gaze. He was so calm, I knew he was trying to tell me something. Something I wasn't going to like.
"Get her up," Doug bellowed. "Now."
"No." Mitch stood, facing him. "We need to rest. Charlie needs water. We all do."
"We rest when I say we rest." Spittle flew from his lips.
"We're all dehydrated, and Charlie can't walk anymore."
"I don't care!" Doug's eyes were wild. "I don't need her anyway."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
My blood turned to ice.
Mitch's entire body went rigid. "What did you say?"
"You heard me." Doug's hands clenched the rifle. "I only need one of you. And it's not her."
"Doug—" I started.
"Shut up!" He swung the rifle toward me. "Just shut up!"
I shuffled backward on the dirt, my ruined heels screaming in protest, the cuts on my hands dragging over rough rocks. "Are you going to shoot me, Doug? Kill me in cold blood?"
"If I have to."
"You bastard," Mitch said quietly.
"Fuck you." Doug leered, his finger hovering near the trigger.
Mitch stepped between us, blocking Doug's line of fire. "You want to shoot someone? Shoot me."
"Mitch, don't—" My voice broke.
"Shoot me," Mitch repeated.
Doug laughed a broken, hysterical sound. "You wanna die a hero, is that it?"
"Maybe not." Mitch's voice was so calm it terrified me. "But at least I'll die knowing I tried to protect her. And you'll be the gutless asshole who killed two innocent people for some stolen jewels. Is that the legacy you want to leave your daughter?"
"Don't you talk about her." Doug's upper lip twitched.
"Why not? She's the reason you're doing this, right? To keep her safe?" Mitch took a step forward. "But what happens when she finds out what you did? When she learns her father murdered us to save her? She won't respect you. She'll hate you. She probably already does."
"Shut up!" Doug’s nostrils flared.
"Is that what you'll be, Doug?" Mitch's voice rose. "A gutless murderer? A man who points guns at unarmed people and pulls the trigger? You're no better than the people you owe."
"I said shut up!"
"Answer the question." Mitch was relentless. "Are you going to kill us? Because if not, then put the gun down so we can think through this situation properly."
Doug's face crumpled. His eyes welled with tears.
And for a heartbeat, I thought Doug might actually do it. "I'm not a coward." His voice was fractured. His mind was, too.
"Then prove it," Mitch said, taking another step toward him. "Put the gun down."