Tension permeated the room, the air suffocating Emily's heart hammering in her chest. Marcus pulled her tightly against him with his arm like a vice around her neck. The gun's chilly barrel pushed closer to her head, every second making her life seem to be precociously fragile.
Marcus said, "Daniel," in a low, dark, almost whisper-like voice, "It's over." You cannot shield her, I warned you. You missed.
Emily's eyes flew to Daniel, who was still, his face a mask of controlled wrath. With his hands closed at his sides, every muscle in his body contracted like a coiled spring. She knew exactly what Daniel was doing—searching for a means of ending this without killing her.
Through clenched teeth, Daniel whispered, "Let her go, Marcus." This falls between you and me. She has nothing what
