64.

WHY HAD SHE AND PIP survived? Perci had given it a lot of thought in the weeks since that horrible day when Jay had nearly killed Pip. And her. “Because we were together. I wasn’t leaving that barn without my twin, Clive. My sister. My family. I loved her and would do anything for her. That day...she ran back into get Jay. To help him, after I was already out. No one chose to leave him in there. We didn’t. But he chose to try to kill us all. Especially Matt. Because he wanted who wasn’t his.”

He’d pulled her closer to the edge.

Away from Nate. Nate. She looked at him again.

He’d come out from behind the truck door. Gotten closer. Terror filled her. Clive could just shoot him where he stood, and she wouldn’t be able to stop it.

The helicopter was too far away to help them at all. Until it was too late.

“Nate! Get back!” Please, just let him get back.

“I’m not letting him take you one step further, sweetheart. Not without me. Never without me.”

“Please, Nate. Just get back behind your truck. Clive’s not going to hurt me. Just scare me.” She looked around wildly. “It’s not even the first time that he’s done that in this very spot.”

“Let her go, Clive. We’re asking you to do that. My brother and her sister didn’t have to go back in to get Jay. They could have been killed. They almost were. I put the breathing tube down my own brother’s throat that day. Same as I did your son. The least you can do is let Perci go. Haven’t you terrified her enough?”

Nate kept walking. Kept coming toward her.

“Nate, get back. Please! Just get back.” Perci clawed at Clive’s arm again, trying to break free. Trying to just get to Nate before Clive snapped completely.