Page 161 of Unholy Masks

I held her tighter.

I didn’t let go.

Enzo looked toward us with a smile. Irene winked.

“Don’t wo—worry. I’m alive,” she whispered, lifting one hand in a weak half-wave. He chuckled.

“I know you won’t die,” he said. Trish took that opportunity to move. She was like a rabid beast. There was no fear in her… it was as if she had decided to die trying.

She knocked his gun to the side and kicked him in his stomach. The gun fell to the ground, and she lunged for it. Before I could move, her fingers curled around the gun. She pointed it at Enzo with a smile.

“Damn it!” Enzo grunted.

“Stay. All of you. Stay exactly where you were.”

Enzo froze. The smile was gone from his face.

Trish backed away, the gun steady in her hand now. Her eyes swept over us before settling on Ryden. They narrowed. In anger. In hatred.

“You should have stayed the fuck away.”

“Trish,” I said. “Patty.”

There was a flicker of emotion before it was gone.

“You came too soon, Yara,” she said, waving the gun with a smile. Her smile was sad, desolate. “This is where it all ends.”

She pointed the barrel straight at Ryden.

Ryden’s expression hardened.

“Trish,” Enzo warned, taking a cautious step forward. “Please, don’t do this.”

She immediately shifted the gun toward him.

“Stay back, Enzo. I’m very fond of you, but I’ll kill you first if you want to be a hero.”

Irene’s fingers tightened around my arm.

“Trish, listen. It doesn’t have to end like this,” I said, but I knew she was too far gone. There was no life in her eyes, no recognition. “You can still go back.”

“Can I?” She laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, you know I can’t, Yara. There’s no going back. We will die here. Together. One big happy family.” She laughed. “I won’t die alone, like Tany did. No, no, no. I will not die alone.”

“Trish,” I said. “Patty.” She blinked. “After all this, you’re going to simply die?” I scoffed. “Is this your grand plan? To die?”

“What else…” She shook her head. “Okay, we could still salvage this.” She gave me a self-satisfied smile. “I’d let Irene go. I’d let Enzo go. I’d just take him.” Her gun stayed on Ryden. “When it’s all over, you come with me, and I’ll never hurt Enzo or Irene again, as long as you stay with me.”

She was grasping at the straws, trying to find something. But even she knew it wasn’t enough.

“Okay. I’ll do it. Let them go,” I said, looking at Irene. I had to save her first.

Trish blinked, confusion and shock in her eyes.

“Let Irene and Enzo go.”

She stared at me before her lips curved into a slow smile.

“You’d really do that? Let Ryden die for Irene? I thought you loved him.”