Page 124 of Undone

Ellie’s body tensed, and my mind raced. I needed to get to Dorian—this couldn’t keep going on.

He needed me.

He needed menow.

“Put the gun down,” Ramirez said sharply. He moved closer to John. “You can walk out of here, or we’ll make you. But Ellie’s coming with us, no matter what.”

My stomach churned. I couldn’t think about this anymore—couldn’t think about John or Ellie. All I could focus on was getting to Dorian.

John’s smile faltered for a second, a moment of hesitation crossing his face as he kept his gun trained on Ellie, his eyes on his watch. It gave me a glimmer of hope. Maybe we could end this without anyone else getting hurt.

I was trembling with fury now. “End this now, John.” My words faltered as John aimed the gun at Ellie’s head, his finger resting lightly on the trigger.

I could feel the helplessness creeping up on me.

“Stop!” I shouted. “Let her go, John. Don’t do this.”

His eyes locked on mine, cold and dark, as if savoring every moment of my panic. “You think you can stop me?” he taunted. “You’re all bark. No bite.”

I couldn’t back down. I couldn’t let him have this victory.

But then I heard it—footsteps. Heavy, urgent footsteps echoing from deeper in the tunnel. A surge of hope shot through me, and I seized it.

“John!” Officer Ramirez shouted. “You’re surrounded! This ends now!”

For a heartbeat, he faltered, his gaze darting around nervously. The sound of approaching officers only made him more erratic.

The security team rushed in then, overwhelming us with their numbers. “Get down!” Officer Ramirez shouted as they swarmed the area, and John, realizing his position, suddenly shifted the gun toward Ramirez.

And then something unexpected happened. John glanced at his wristwatch.

“Well, looks like it’s finally time,” he said. “You can have her now. I just needed her to make it to midnight. You definitely would use a lot more resources to get her back than you would anyone else, after all.” He winked.

I froze. A sickening realization washed over me. John was waiting for something. Waiting for this moment.

Without warning, he shoved her away. Ellie stumbled forward, nearly falling, but Sawyer was there in an instant, his arms catching her before she could hit the ground.

“You’re okay. I’ve got you,” Sawyer said, pulling her close.

Ellie’s wide, terrified eyes met his as she clung to him, her body trembling from the adrenaline. Sawyer held her tight, but his eyes never left John, who still had Ramirez at gunpoint.

This wasn’t what I expected. There was no fight, no final showdown.

Except he didn’t back down. His weapon was still in his grip, a threat.

The room held its breath. John’s face twisted in fury as he pointed the gun at me. I went to run past him, to get to Dorian. I needed to find him.

“Don’t move,” he hissed, his voice trembling with an insane rage. “You can’t get there in time. Don’t even try.”

I could barely hear anything through the blood rushing in my ears, but my focus was razor-sharp. I had to do something, anything.

“Hey!” Sawyer called out, his tone surprisingly calm. “Let’s not do this, man. You don’t need to go out like this.”

John’s attention snapped to Sawyer, confusion flashing across his face for a moment before his anger returned.

“What the hell do you know? You can’t fix this.” John spat.

Sawyer took another step forward, his hand gently guiding Ellie behind him. “Yeah, I don’t know if I can fix it,” he said, his tone still level. “But I’m damn sure gonna try.”

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