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“Please, Gianna.” Lorelei was actually crying now. Unbelievable. “Don’t kill Leander. I’m begging you. He’s already suffered enough. Let me take him out of here and you’ll never have to worry about him again. I promise.”
I didn’t bother holding back a snort. There’s no way in hell Leander would ever walk away and leave Gianna alone after this fucking cluster. Lorelei was a fucking idiot for even trying to lie and say that he would.
Gianna sighed dramatically and looked over at Paulie. He raised his brows at her but didn’t say anything or give any obvious clue as to what he was thinking.
At last, Gianna clapped her hands. “I got it. Since Mr. Reeve is so fond of deals, I’ve got one for you.”
I didn’t like the glint in her eye when she turned back to me, continuing with a sugary cheeriness that made me want to slap her. “One of youwillwalk out of here. Alive. Which one will depend entirely on you two. The choice is yours.”
Leander moved closer to me, his fingers brushing mine.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, slipping my hand into his completely.
Strutting over to Paulie, she whispered something and held her hand out like a spoiled brat waiting for her weekly allowance. He coughed up whatever she wanted, but it was too small to see what it was. Sauntering back to us, she tossed it at my feet with another plastered-on smile.
It was a switchblade.
“You two can decide who lives and who dies. The choice is totally yours,” she announced brightly.
Neither Leander nor I moved.
Pouting, Gianna gestured to Paulie, who lifted his gun, pointing it at Leander. “Let me be clear, boys. One of youwillkill the other one, or you’llbothget a bullet in the head. Along with everyone else you’ve ever cared about. Elijah?” She looked pointedly at Leander before her gaze flicked to me. “Allegra?”
“Well, what are you waiting for?” I asked, spreading my arms and calling her bluff. She knew their names. Big deal. Threatening someone across the Atlantic without actual proof you could pull it off was an amateur move. Her uncle should have taught her better ‘cuz Lord knows her father didn’t. “Let’s get this massacre underway.”
Before my brain could even comprehend what it was seeing, there was movement in my periphery. Leander stepped forward and swiped the knife off the ground. Releasing the blade as he lifted it to his throat, bright red spilled down his pale skin.
Lorelei and I both screamed “No!” in unison.
I threw myself at him and wrestled his arm downward before he could cut any deeper.
“Let go of me,” Leander growled, trying to either shake off my hand or bring the blade back up to finish the job.
“So you can kill yourself? Absolutely not!” I glared at him with a combination of anger and betrayal, driving my thumb into the pressure point in his wrist. It made zero difference in getting him to drop the knife or even loosen his grip.
“Better me than you. I’m half-dead anyway.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I’m not afraid, Bennett. Let me do this for you.”
I didn’t answer him, because I knew he wasn’t lying. Nor was it some romantic gesture. He wasn’t afraid of death, he never had been. Not like me. And he was using that fear against me now to be the fucking hero — thelastthing I ever wanted him to be.
“‘The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?’” he continued, his gaze imploring.
I shook my head vehemently, molars grinding together. I wouldn’t be swayed by Poe any more than the sad expression on his face. “No. Don’t even say it.”
“Youhaveto.” He pressed the knife into my palm, forcefully squeezing my fingers around the handle. “You have to live, Bennett, for both of us. Or this has all been for nothing.”
“There is no living without you.” The thought alone nearly struck me down where I stood. I couldn’t go along with this ridiculous fucking demand. Iwouldn’t.
Leander cupped my face with his bloody hand, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “Memento mori, mon coeur.”
“Don’t make them do this,” Lorelei said to Gianna, grabbing hold of her with both hands. “Please. Please, I’m begging you.”
Gianna tugged her hand free, her nose wrinkled. “You can go now, Doc. Your part is over. Unless Reeve is the one who bites it. I know you really wanted to see that happen.”
My glare snapped at Lorelei, but Leander caught my face and turned it toward him again.
