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Kira stared at Sophia and silently willed her not to confess to shooting Victor.

Sophia stepped forward, brandishing Victor’s gun.

Don’t say it. Just don’t say it.

“I killed him. Just like I’ll end you. Tell me where my son is.”

Natalia pulled the trigger. Twice. The deafening booms sent Kira to the floor. She rolled looking for cover and saw Sophia clutching her stomach.

“Sophia! No!” Kira covered her head and waited while the mountain groaned and pebbles and dust fell around them. The rocking stopped, but the sound of rocks shifting spiked her pulse even more.

She hurried to check on Sophia, keeping one eye on Natalia. She’d ducked as well and was still on her knees, weapon clutched in her hand. Would the next bullet be for Kira? Sophia had a weak pulse and blood seeped through the woman’s expensive blouse. Kira took off Violet’s jacket and wrapped Sophia’s stomach with the coat to stop the bleeding. She wiggled Victor’s gun out from under Sophia’s hip and stuck it in her waistband.

Natalia had distracted herself with all the shiny jewels. So Kira did the only thing she could think of.

She ran. If she could get across the cavern, she could get Sophia help.

God, please let Sophia live. Too many people have died because of greed. She deserves to be reunited with her son.

Kira stopped at the edge of the bridge. It was now or never. She moved across the planks, two by two, wrapping her arms in the ropes again. But if she went fast enough, maybe she could make it before—

“Stop right there.”

Kira halted. She wrapped her hands around the rope railing and turned her head to see Natalia pointing a gun at her back.

Just great. Kira took two more steps, every other plank. Now she hovered in the dead center of the bridge and turned to face off with the crazy woman brandishing a gun.

“You killed Victor.” The woman stepped onto the bridge, following Kira’s steps. “He knew you were trouble from day one when he killed that security guard in the gallery. He should have killed you when he had the chance.”

Kira whipped out the gun from her waistband and aimed it at Natalia. The two stood out in the wide open and faced off. Nothing underneath them except a rickety plank and some rope. And a big black hole.

They stared at each other. Kira could take the shot, but between the stress and the dim lighting, accuracy would be the issue. The last thing she wanted to do was have a shot trigger a rock slide. But Natalia wouldn’t hesitate to fire. She’d already shot Sophia.

Natalia stood and glared, the dim lights casting shadows over her contorted face. But Kira couldn’t turn to move or the woman would most certainly shoot her in the back.

The bridge lurched. Kira tightened her death grip on the rope in her left hand, the gun still trained on Natalia in her right hand. She searched for the source of the jolt and spotted it.

The rock wall had two spots on either side of the chasm that anchored the ropes in place. When Sophia had lunged at Victor, the gun had fired and the shot whizzed past Kira’s head. And now she knew where the bullet had landed.

In the anchor securing the bridge to the rock.

She looked at the end of the rope railing. One of the two anchor bolts had dislodged from the stone wall. The other strained under the weight. It wouldn’t hold much longer. Natalia noticed it too and backtracked toward solid ground.

“Run, Kira!”

She turned to see a shadowy figure at the edge of the bridge. She’d recognize that voice anywhere.

Bryce.

Kira plunged forward, desperate to reach Bryce, taking the planks two by two. She continued her process of wrapping her hands in the rope but picked up the pace. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she noticed Natalia was almost to the other side—closest to the treasure. But no treasure compared to Bryce.

She was eight planks from the end. Four more steps and she’d make it to solid ground. Bryce stood at the edge, arms out, ready to help her. Violet stood at his side.

A snap sent a jolt through her spine, and the bridge collapsed, sending Kira free-falling.

“Kira!” Bryce lunged for Kira’s hand, but she slipped through his fingers. “No! Kira!”

He stood at the edge of the chasm and peered into the abyss, heart pounding, breath suspended.