Page 179 of Meet Me at the Metro

An abrupt clicking fills the air, and I’m horrified as I watch the velvet curtains begin to part, flooding the stage with spotlights that Kimberley must have found a way to turn on. We’re stolen from our safe refuge as our hiding place is shrouded in warm, golden light.

Theo and I scramble to our feet.

Kimberley casually sits in the front row of the auditorium as if waiting for us to take our starting marks. I’m unsure if she can see us from where we’re standing, but I can see her.

“Oh, come on, Ellie. Don’t tell me you’ve got stage fright!”

Kimberley’s snarky remark has my blood boiling. She speaks as if this is some game between us, and if she thinks I’ll comply and happily play along, she is dead wrong. As if he knows I’m tempted to speak, Theo clamps a hand around my mouth.

“I should let you two know I’m more than willing to stay here all night if necessary. So the longer you hide, staying hidden and scared—”

“You’re the one who should be scared! You’re about to be rotting your life away in a cell,” Theo snarls, pulling us to a different spot further backstage.

“Is that so?” Kimberley laughs—actually laughs—as though the proposition entertains her. “No,boy, I’m about to spend my life in absolute luxury.”

“Is that what you told yourself when you stole all that money from the school?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy, now,” Theo fires back. “You knowexactlywhat I’m talking about.”

“Don’t try to rile me up, Theo. I’m losing patience.”

“You know what I think the police will be interested in finding out? What you would need £50,000 for, Kimberley.”

“They’re not going to find out anything that would prompt them to ask,” she seethes, tightening her grip around the weapon in her hand. “They’ll be too busy investigating what’s left of you two.”

John’s face is drained of color as he steps by her side. “You said you wouldn’t hurt her, Kimberley!”

“So long as you obeyed.NOW GET THEM!”

Theo seizes my hand the very second John bounds for the stage, yanking me with him as he races us toward the other side.

The terrifying crack of the pistol fills the air when we reach the middle, and we lurch away from the gunfire in the knick of time. My ears are ringing as our feet stagger to gain balance.

Just as I find a sense of equilibrium again, a hand tightly wraps around my ankle and jerks me backward. It all happens so fast that I don’t have time to process the pain of my body hitting the floor.

I let out a frustrated shout—one that’s been brewing for months—andkick... and kick... and kick... and kick…until John’s grip finally loosens against me.

He’s groaning with pain as Theo hauls me off the floor, but I don’t spare a glance back to see the damage I left behind. I don’t need to look to know that Ifuckedhim up. I knew it the moment my foot made that final,crunchingimpact.

Theo and I barely reach backstage safely before the third deafening shot rings through the air.

We’re greeted with rows upon rows of costumes as we dash beyond the curtains on this side. We duck as we move along the colorful array of shimmering fabrics, fighting to remain hidden. Kimberley’s footfalls echo along the stage, and we quickly lower ourselves to the floor.

Frozen in shock, we watch through the narrow slits between the hanging clothing as Kim reaches John’s laid-out body in the middle. He’s moaning and clutching his bloodied face as he looks up at her. There’s nothing but disdain in Kimberley’s eyes as she aims the gun down at him, and my erratic heartbeat grows wilder.

He holds up his hands in surrender.“P-p-please.”

“Ugh, you're so pathetic,” she sighs, rolling her eyes. “I’m savingyou for later.”

Then, without stalling, she strikes his head with the butt of the pistol, knocking him out cold. The sound of the impact and the thud of his body meeting the floor has me gasping.

Theo’s breaths are heavy beside me, choppy and uneven. When I glance over, he’s clutching his upper thigh, bright red seeping between his fingers. Icy, relentless dread rushes through my veins as my trembling hands pry his away and find the bullet wound underneath.

“Oh, my God.Y-y-you’re shot,” I whimper. My hands tremble as I quickly press them over his and apply more pressure.

“I’m alright.I’m f-fine.”

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