Page 96 of Tabitha

As I watch Bast and River walk away, the tightness in my chest threatens to strangle me. It takes everything in me to let them go and not knock them over the head and tie them up to keep them out of the upcoming fight.

Blowing out a heavy breath, I roll my shoulders and head toward the mansion. A glance in the window shows Banks has only two men with him.

I don’t trust it.

It’s obviously a trap, but that doesn’t stop me from walking up the steps. I’m just hoping my skills are enough to keep the men I’m coming to adore safe. Gunshots rattle in the distance, near the entrance of mansion row, and I realize it must be the militia fighting back.

A surge of hope fills my chest.

One way or another, it ends tonight.

With that resolve firmly in mind, I allow myself to look for my men. I expect to see Gage captured, so I’m not prepared when I see Pierce calmly sitting across the counter from Banks. My heart thrashes in my chest, and I tighten my grip on my gun against the impulse to just shoot Banks and his men the instant I enter the room.

Then I ignore everything else and do what I do best—focus on the mission.

When I enter the house, the two goons lingering in the room stiffen and watch me warily. Banks just smiles at me like the whole mountainside isn’t rigged to blow.

“Tabitha!” Banks waves his hand like he’s greeting an old friend, oblivious that he’s waving a loaded gun around wildly. “I’m so glad to see you!”

I raise an incredulous brow, tapping the barrel of my gun against my leg in agitation. “Funny, since you left me tied to a chair next to a massive bomb set to go off in about…” I mentally count in my head. “Six minutes?”

His grin doesn’t wilt even a little bit. He just shrugs and points the barrel of his gun toward the empty seat next to Pierce. It’s all I can do not to glance at Pierce as I cross the room, but I’m afraid if I give into the impulse, my focus will waver.

I take the stool next to Pierce.

Everything is going fine…until he stiffens.

Against my will, I turn my head and freeze.

There is a gods-be-damned bomb strapped to his fucking chest, the timer mocking me as it slowly ticks down. I automatically reach for him, wanting to get it off, but he gives a subtle shake of his head.

I whirl and lift my gun, aiming it point-blank at Banks.

It pisses me off that he doesn’t even twitch. He even goes so far as to set his gun on the counter in front of him, grabs the edges of the island, and smiles. “You might not be aware of it, but our fathers were very similar. They were drafted together, served in the same unit for years…until your father betrayed the rest of the unit during a—let’s call it a reappropriation mission—and took all the gold for himself. Half the unit was killed during the mission, the other half went to jail, while your father was hailed a hero.

“I’m here to take back what’s rightfully mine.” Vitriol spews from him, his good humor melting away to pure rage. “And don’t think your men will come to your rescue. They’re…otherwise occupied. Just give me my gold, and everything can go back to the way things should’ve been from the beginning.”

My gut tightens with dread at the mention of my men, and I can only stare at him, incredulous about his claims. “The way it should have been? None of this is the way it should have been. My father should have been a loving man, but a war injury turned him into a sociopath who raised me to be just like him. If he had money, do you think he would’ve raised me in a single room cabin in the middle of the woods with no running water or electricity?

“While you were raised in a loving home, I was forced to shoot my own father to keep him from murdering me.” I glare at the man who dared claim that I lived such an ideal life, unable to hold back my look of disgust. “We’re nothing alike. You let your own greed twist you. Though I might have been raised by a monster, I didn’t become one, not like you.”

Banks lifts his gun, aiming it directly at my forehead, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

I only lift my chin, refusing to cower. The only way out of this is by logic. “If you blow up the town, any chance of you finding your gold will be gone forever.”

Without speaking, he pulls a slim device from his back pocket, no larger than the size of a phone. He sets it on the island, the display indicating only four minutes remain.

A movement on the stairs behind Banks catches my attention, and I watch as a shape slowly emerges from the shadows. My breath catches in my chest like a giant air bubble when I recognize the person.

My father.

The one person Banks wants more than anyone else.

And he just fucking walks into the room without a care.

Fuck!

The man kept himself hidden for months. There’s only one reason he would show himself now—me.

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