Page 78 of Mayflower

My arms raised, I carefully step forward, intending to cross the clearing between me and Sonny.

“Let’s negotiate, Butcher. We can resolve this.”

He chuckles, forty or so feet away from me, dragging Sonny another step back, the kid’s feet stumbling.

“You made a big mistake, Raven! I admired you. You were invincible. With all the hate I had toward you, I could never hurt you enough. But these two, your girl and the kid. Tsk-tsk-tsk. You fucked up, Raven! You put them in danger. Don’t you know the first rule of hard criminals? You don’t get weak spots. And look at you. You got two!”

He laughs, that mocking laughter that lacks any compassion.

“Let's see how far you will go,” he taunts. “Let's walk through glass and fire. And then we’ll see how slowly you will die for them.”

Suddenly, an explosion right in front of me blinds me, throwing me back, onto the ground, blasting my arm that shields my face with fire and shrapnel.

When the smoke clears, I get to my feet. My body is burning. My ears are buzzing.

Butcher, forty feet away, is cackling.

“Did you like that, Raven? How about another one?”

Another explosion right in front of me blinds me, making me cower, the side of my body pierced with shrapnel. Molotov fucking cocktail.

I wanna say it’s an attack. But if he wanted to hurt me, he’d throw a real grenade that would kill me. Instead, it’s all play for Butcher.

Motherfucker.

“What do you want?” I snarl through the smoke of the explosion that separates us. My eyes are burning. My skin is on fire. “Give me the kid, Butcher! He didn’t do anything!”

“You know what I want to see, Raven? You on all fours. Like a dog. Woof! Woof!”

His cackle fills the jungle.

I squint through the smoke as I raise my arms in the air and step toward him.

“Stop your games! Let’s make another deal, Butcher! Tell me what you want! I’ll make it happen! I’ll make you rich! Just give me the kid!”

“No way, Raven. You are not stupid. I’m done with deals. I make my own.” He digs the gun barrel into Sonny’s temple.

“Let him go!” I shout.

“Listen to me, Raven. And listen well. I will take Ayana. You have no way out of it. With all your guys and intel and stupid security, I have my ways. No escaping that. You lost!” he shouts, standing still amid the forest’s darkness.

The little fires from the explosions flicker off the ground between us. He is like the devil himself, rising from hell.

“I want one thing!” he says cheerfully. “One last thing from you. Before I see you go down, I want to see you on your knees.”

I know Maddy and a dozen guards are behind me. I know the guards can shoot any minute. I can’t falter. I can’t send the wrong signal. I can’t mess this up.

My eyes are on Sonny, locked with his.

“It’s all right,” I mouth, hoping he can understand. “It’s okay, buddy. It’s okay.”

His eyes are so big, so scared, so sad, so apologetic that my fucking heart breaks.

I shift my eyes to Butcher. “He’s just a kid. Let him go. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Butcher’s scowl widens. “Oh, you will. Ooooh, you will, Raven. Kneel.”

I look down. The ground is littered with glass, shiny in the moonlight and the guards’ spotlights.

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