Page 162 of Us Deadly Few

A part of herwantedto fall over. To knock her head out and escape this hellish domain.

That had to be her life’s purpose.

To test just how much suffering the human body could endure.

Otherwise, it didn’t seem possible that the day after Takeshi and Khalani finally set aside their differences and admitted their feelings for each other…was the day they lost it all.

Bang!

She flinched, rubbing her weary eyes, rocking back and forth as the gunshot replayed relentlessly in her mind.

It couldn’t be true.

Takeshi can’t…be…

She slammed her head back against the hard wall.

Her body jolted, but she still didn’t feel anything. A twisted part of her craved the torture now.

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to forget…

“Khalani.” Winnie knocked on the door. “Can Winnie come in?”

Khalani didn’t answer. Her gaze remained fixed on the white sheets.

What if she went back?

The idea coiled inside her like a flickering ember ever since their escape.

Takeshi couldn’t be dead.

He was too obstinate. Too stubborn. Too full oflife.

He’d fought for her survival more times than she could count, and she was beginning to realize that single-minded dedication ran through her, too. She felt it coursing through her veins and in the very air she exhaled.

He saved her. It was her time for her to rescue him.

An indistinct murmuring sounded behind the door before the knob turned slowly. Winnie walked in, but Khalani continued staring straight ahead, running through any feasible plan in her head.

All she needed were weapons and a transport.

Khalani wasn’t exactly sure how to get back to the camp, but she’d find a way, even if it meant scouring through every underground tunnel.

She felt the weight of Winnie’s concerned gaze.

When they returned to the Black Heart, Spade had warned them to stay inside and keep a low profile because the Dealers were looking for the prisoners who’d escaped.

Brock quietly explained to the others what happened to Takeshi, while Winnie and Serene held her in her arms all night as she sobbed.

They never left her side.

In the morning, when she finally got up to use the bathroom, she found Adan sitting outside her door, as if he’d stayed there all night.

Brock was close by, deep lines creasing his forehead, days-old scruff shadowing his face.

Their eyes held an unwavering commitment.

A promise that they wouldn’t let Khalani lose herself. And if she did, she wouldn’t face it alone.

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