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He takes one more step.

I steady it with my other hand.

G.I. Joe Todd taught me this.

Both hands. Center mass. Finger off the trigger until I mean it.

Finally, a Todd with transferable skills.

“Move.”

He doesn’t.

Instead, he takes another step.

“You’re not going to shoot me.”

CHAPTER 48

EMMA

He takes another step.

I pull the trigger.

The gun kicks.

The man jolts backward into the banister and goes down.

I don’t wait to see where I hit him.

I step around him and run.

Someone shouts above me.

Another voice answers from somewhere below.

I take the stairs as fast as the shoes allow, which is considerably faster than they were designed for.

At the bottom, a woman stands in the entrance hall with a telephone in her hand.

She sees me.

Then the gun.

Then whatever is left of my dress.

“The gate.”

She doesn’t move.

“Open the gate.”

Her eyes go toward the stairs.

I raise the gun.

That settles it.