Page 75 of Siege of Shadows

Naomi squeezed her eyes shut, breathing in slowly to keep herself calm. I couldn’t stall anymore. But before I could get my foot off the floor, I heard something rolling into the room behind me.

“What the...” The guard stepped to the side to avoid them. They were three metal balls, tiny enough to slip underneath the door, like children’s marbles.

Jessie tilted her head. “What’s that?”

Click.The light that battered the room blinded me for a moment. I covered my eyes, doubling over as the doors busted open. The crack of a fist against bone, the shudder of a body slamming against the wall.

“Hold it!”

It had taken only a moment. The flash was gone, and when my eyes readjusted, Rhys was next to me, holding his gun up at the unhinged girl still pointing a gun at his mother’s head. Brendan shut the door, moving the other guard’s limp body next to the one Jessie had killed.

“She’s crazy,” I hissed, rubbing my eyes.

Rhys kept his gun level. “Yeah, I know.”

Jessie positively lit up at the sight of him. Her body twitched slightly as if she couldn’t contain it. “Hi, Aidan!” She didn’t seem to mind or even notice when Brendan cocked his gun in her direction. “I always said I wanted to meet your mom, remember?”

It was incredible. One minute she seemed determined to kill him and the next she looked as if she wanted to kiss him.

Rhys didn’t move. “I remember.”

“You promised you’d take me. But then, you promised a lot of dumb shit that didn’t end up happening, didn’t you?” Her hand clasped tighter around Naomi’s mouth. “Well, I’m here now,” she sang. “I’malive, Aidan. Aren’t you surprised? Don’t I look pretty now? The surgeries turned out great, didn’t they?”

“Let my mother go,” Rhys ordered her calmly. “You’re surrounded.”

He nodded at the window behind her, and in the darkness I could see a figure moving, a gun glinting.

“Director Prince Senior is managing things outside. Nobody is any the wiser and we’d like to keep it that way.” Brendan followed suit in training his revolver on Jessie. “It’s over, Ms. Stone. Slide your gun to me and come with us—quietly. Let’s not disturb the people here.”

“It’s over...?” Jessie was enjoying this. She stifled a laugh. “Gonna take me in, huh?”

“Don’t worry.” Brendan smirked. “You’ll be with your friend Vasily in the Hole.”

A shadow passed over her porcelain face. “There’s only one Devil’s Hole.”

It was slight, but I caught it: the twitch of Rhys’s hand, just as Jessie’s pants pocket vibrated.

“Oh, good!” Her eyes were back to shining again. “Finally!”

She lowered her gun, pushing Naomi forward with a shove to the back of her head.

“Mom!” Rhys and Brendan cried at the same time, though neither lowered his gun.

As Jessie began rubbing her neck again, I grabbed Naomi’s trembling hand, pulling her behind me. “You can have this, too!” said Jessie. “You’ve been looking for it, right?”

She slipped her hand into her pocket and threw something small and glittering at the floor. A wedding band. Naomi’s? I didn’t know what she was up to, or how petty theft featured into Saul’s grand plan, but whatever was going on ended now.

“Brendan’s right.” I lifted my right hand, ready to fight. “It’s over. You’re outgunned. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“Well, you got one right. Iamoutgunned.” In a show of surrender, Jessie bent low and slid the gun right to my feet. “We’ll see about the other thing.”

Shutting her eyes, Jessie breathed deeply, lowering her head.

“Mom, go,” said Rhys, inching toward Jessie carefully. “Go find Dad.”

“Wait, Aidan.” Naomi lifted her hand up. “Something’s not right. She’s—”

Someone stirred behind us.

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