Page 221 of Irreversible

My captor’s lips purse, his eyes thinning. “You’re right…he really doesn’t.” He flicks his hand. “Let him go.”

Jasper is shoved forward, collapsing to his knees. He remains like that for a moment, catching his breath, before lifting his chin and finding my eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he says, his voice hardly carrying over to us. “Forgive me.”

I wrestle in vain to break free, tears sliding down my cheeks. “Jasper—run. Please, you need to?—”

“I had no choice,” he continues. “Allison.”

My wide eyes lock with his. Swallowing, I stop wriggling. “What?”

Jasper pulls to one leg, then the other, slowly rising to full height as he shakes his head with remorse. “They took Ali. He said they’d kill her if I didn’t find a way to bring you here.” He pauses, his voice breaking. “I’m so sorry, Everly. I had no way out. They put a wire on me, followed us here. I was being watched. One wrong move and she was dead.”

The room blurs, the weight of his words landing like a punch to my ribs. “No…”

He steeples his hands, stumbling forward. “There was no other way. Please, believe me. I tried to signal your detective friend, but I had to be subtle. I don’t know if… God, I’m so sorry. I never wanted to?—”

“Touching,” The Timekeeper interrupts, sending a hand gesture to his lackey. “Sadly, I have a schedule to keep.”

It happens so fast.

The man behind Jasper stalks forward, pulls out a pocketknife, and flicks the blade.

In one swift motion, a meaty arm arcs across Jasper’s throat.

Slice.

My scream strangles with disbelief as Jasper’s eyes round in shock. He stumbles, a hand flying to his neck as blood seeps through his fingers, spilling through the cracks in violent spurts. Knees buckling, he crumples to the floor.

Gasping. Gurgling.

“NO!” I lunge, but The Timekeeper’s iron-clad grip pulls me back, holding me in place.

He leans down, whispering in my ear, “Now, let’s not make a scene.” His voice drips with a chilling calm. “That’smyjob.”

Reality bends. Folds in half.

Sound dulls to a distant roar, muffled by the thundering pulse in my ears. I’m numb, my brain scrambling to process what I’ve just seen.

Jasper’s body slumps forward, splattering across the stage until he’s lying motionless in a pool of his own blood.

My stomach clenches, cold and hollow.

My limbs are frozen, trapped in quicksand.

Then something inside me snaps, raw and instinctive, cutting through the haze.

Without thinking, I twist sharply, slamming my stiletto down on the bastard’s foot. He lets out a grunt, and we grapple for dominance.

I claw at him.

Teeth bared, lungs shrieking with desperation, I struggle for anything to throw him off balance. I scream like a banshee, my nails tearing across his skin, the toes of my heels gouging his shins.

A sharp prick at my neck.

I gasp.

Instantly, my mind dizzies.

Eyelids flutter… Vision blackens…

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