You Are Mine Little Sister (by Syra Tucker) novel Chapter 141

She laughed and turned away, her shoulders tight as she crossed to the table, dropped her gun and poured a drink.

"I know what you're trying to do, Rali. And I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I'll not give you the opportunity to rile me up."

She took a long swallow, then leveled the glass at me. "Your life is a mess right now. You don't even have any idea what Blade is going to do to you." She laughed. "Believe me, death would be a kinder option."

Her words sent static my heart.

I glanced down at the knife in my hand. If only I could cut the ropes without her knowing.

"Working with Blade has been really fun, you know." She leaned a hip against the table, ankles crossed. "He's been a nice boss. Plus, I get exclusive access to stuff like this."

She dipped a hand into her pocket and pulled out a syringe, the barrel cloudy with a white powder. A sardonic smile curled her lips as she lifted it, inspecting the plunger.

"Just one dose and you'll be screaming your mother's name. This right here is three doses. It's fatal, I'm sure. Anybody would be a fool to take it."

Her eyes flicked to mine. Ice sluiced down my spine.

"Ironic, isn't it? One dose makes you see stars, double sends you straight to heaven." She chuckled, her gaze drifting back to the needle.

This is brand-new, still off the market. A product Blade just acquired. They're test-running it. First test two weeks ago, the subject took triple and ended up—" she slid a finger across her throat, "—dead. Second test went down to one dose, and the subject said it was the best thing he'd ever felt. He rode it all day."

She laughed like a maniac. God, she sounded so much like a junkie.

"I've had a dose myself." She tapped the syringe against her palm. "And my God, Rali, it was the best thing I'd ever felt."

She turned toward the table, laughing as her back faced me. Then, she went on, rambling about other kinds of good stuff.

I didn't hesitate. I folded over my lap, slid the table knife low, and sawed until the ropes snapped free.

Oh, God. I did it.

Evie kept fussing with bottles and glassware, blissfully unaware I wasn't bound anymore.

Problem: she still had the gun. There was no way I'd make it to the door without catching a bullet.

I darted my eyes around frantically, looking for anything I could use as a weapon. The room was almost empty.

Finally, gravity won. I toppled, weightless on the ground and then not, the thud arriving from a distance I couldn't measure.

I tried to scream but my throat was locked. I tried to swallow, but my tongue refused. My head began to pendulum—left, right, left, right.

It felt like I was dying. Truly dying.

Evie crouched in front of me. I couldn't recognize her and only guessed it was her since she was the only one in the room with me.

"Cute, Rali. You fell right into my trap." She was touching me, but I couldn't feel anything. "You have no idea how much I wanted to use that on you. At least, I won't get blamed for killing you on self defense."

Her voice echoed inside my skull, then split into two, then ten. Before I knew it, I was spasming violently. I didn't even know where exactly I was hitting; I only knew too many hard surfaces found me in stuttering succession.

I felt liquid pouring out of my mouth. Felt my soul struggling to get out of my body.

In that painful moment, memories detonated behind my eyes: the times I laughed, the times I cried, times I dined with a certain twelve year old who grew up to hunt me. I felt his hands on me once again, felt his lips on my neck, my bossom, and every good spot he knew how to touch.

It was then I knew I wasn't getting out of this. That this was going to be the last time I existed as 'Me'.