"But maybe before I put a bullet in you, we can have some fun." Kelly closes the distance between us, his hand gripping my hair as I move to dart away. "I wanted a taste of you back then. Now I can finally get what I should've had thirteen years ago."
I try to jerk free, but he yanks me back by my hair, forcing me to look at him.
"You're going to die here, Lily.” He lowers his mouth to my neck. "But after I finish with you."
My mind is screaming:Fight. Run. Do something.But I'm zip-tied and unarmed. If I knee him, I might get a second to run—but the doors are locked.
If I scream, will anyone hear me?
Mason will come. He promised.
Kelly's other hand moves to my waist, pulling me into his body.
"Don't touch me," I say, every part of me starting to shake.
"Or what?" He leans in, his breath hot against my neck.
I scream—I channel my inner horror movie heroine and scream like my life depends on it.
He’s surprised, and his hold on me goes slack. I twist, trying to break free, but he slams me back against the wall. The impact knocks the air from my lungs.
"Stop fighting," Kelly growls, trying to rip my shirt open. "It'll be easier if you just?—"
The sound of a rifle shot shatters the air.
82
MASON
Through the scope, I watch Lily twist away from Kelly's grip, not hesitating in the moment my wide shot gives her. She's not panicking. She's buying time, making herself difficult and hard to handle.
That's my girl.
I'm positioned on the ridge two hundred yards out, prone behind my rifle with a clear sight line through the broken window on the east side. The scope brings everything into sharp focus: Lily zip-tied and Kelly wrestling her to use as a shield.
My finger rests on the trigger, but the shot isn’t clean.
“Come on,” I mutter, waiting for a kill shot. Jake and Luke are thirty seconds out, moving in low from opposite angles. Because this extraction needs to be surgical—no collateral damage, no missed intel, no chance Kelly's network gets spooked before we can roll them up.
The comms crackle in my ear.
"In position," I hear Jake's voice, low and calm.
"In position," Luke confirms.
I key my mic once, for acknowledgment. Then I watch the breach begin.
The loading bay door explodes inward as Luke kicks it off its hinges. The crash echoes through the warehouse. Jake comes through the side entrance simultaneously, rifle up, sweeping left.
Kelly's head snaps toward the sound.
Through my scope, I watch him calculate in real time—two entry points, coordinated breach, professional operators. His hand goes for the weapon at his hip.
Then he spins and grabs Lily.
He yanks her in front of him, one arm locked around her throat, using her body as a shield. My crosshairs are on his head—clean shot, perfect angle—and then Lily's there, blocking the kill zone.
I lose the shot.