Consumed by Truths (Truth or Lies 6)

Fuck.

My life is now tied to Felix’s. I can’t kill him without killing myself. And I can’t die. My babies need me.

So all I can do is hold onto his leg as I dangle thirty-plus feet in the air and hope Felix can hang on.

“Kai!” I hear Enzo shout.

I look up and see Enzo, Beckett, and Archard standing over them.

“Hold on! We are lowering a rope,” Enzo shouts.

But then Archard interrupts. “You can’t help them, not for another ten minutes. If you do, you are automatically disqualified. And the penalty for helping them is death.”

Felix looks down at me. “Hear that, momma deer? Who are you going to choose? Yourself or Enzo? Do your precious babies get to grow up with their mother or their father?”

“Both,” I say, holding on tighter to Felix as I try my best to dig my feet into the cliffside, so I’m not relying on Felix so much. But my feet barely reach.

Felix chuckles. He tries to swing his leg to knock me loose, but every time he does, he almost loses his balance himself.

So instead, we just dangle on the cliffside for ten minutes, waiting for the seconds to tick by—neither of us moving. Knowing one move could kill our enemy but take ourselves down along with them.

Finally, Archard yells, “Time's up!”

Two ropes are lowered. I grab one, while Felix grabs the other, and we are pulled up. When I reach the top, Enzo and Beckett both tackle me in a bear hug.

“Ten minutes has never gone by so slowly,” Enzo weeps.

I pant heavily, my heart racing as I realize how close I came to death. If Felix had wanted to kill me, all he had to do was let go.

I stare over at Felix who is on all fours panting hard, just as exhausted as I am.

“Felix is tired. Now is the time to finish him off,” I say.

Enzo and Beckett both stare at me. And Enzo grabs my face, “Never do that again. You scared us both to death.”

“We can only take him down together. Now if they draw your name, you will be able to finish him easily,” I say.

Enzo kisses my forehead. “I love you, stingray.”

“I love you too, Black.”

Archard steps into the center again. “The third round you get a gun with a single bullet.”

Finally. A round Enzo and I can win. Especially with Felix so exhausted.

Archard puts all our names in and begins the drawing process again.

“Enzo will fight this round against…”

“…Kai.”

Dammit.

We both look at Beckett. He’s the weakest shot out of the three of us. And he’s the most beat up. I’m not sure he can win this round. And I can’t watch him die.

“I know, it’s okay. I got this,” Enzo whispers into my hair.

I don’t know what's going on in his head, but I trust Enzo. I know he has a plan to end this. I trust him.