Chapter 166 ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX

Chapter 166 ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX
Blue's POV

I readjusted the handles of the daggers in my palms, my knuckles turning white. Looks like it has come down to this. The only way we were ever leaving this place alive was if I went through Derek.

I flicked my eyes toward Scarlett, giving her a barely visible jerk of my head. I prayed she understood what I meant. Thankfully, she caught on, ducking down and scrambling into the shadow of the adjacent bookshelf.

Now Derek had to make a choice—pursue her, or deal with me.

Derek raised his weapon, his mouth twisting into a dark grin as he cocked the gun at my chest.

Looks like it was going to be me.

The crash of fists and slamming wood echoed from the far side of the room. Tanner and Jax were clearly engaged with the rest of Derek's crew. I couldn't afford to worry about them; they knew how to handle themselves.

I have never cared for religion and have never really been bothered with prayer, but in this moment, I found myself silently praying that all of us would somehow get out of this mess alive.

I lunged forward, closing the distance before Derek could even pull the trigger. He gasped, stumbling back a few paces into the main aisle. Before I could reach him, two of his guys stepped out from the shadows, blocking my path with iron pipes raised. Derek simply backed off, standing aside to watch with an arrogant smirk.

The first guy swung his pipe toward my head. I ducked underneath the arc, drove my elbow hard into his solar plexus, and slammed the pommel of my dagger against his temple. He went down hard, groaning as he clutched his bleeding head.

The second guy lunged with a pocket knife. I caught his wrist, twisted it until the bone popped, and drove my knee straight into his nose. Blood sprayed across the floorboards as he collapsed beside his friend.

I didn't want to kill these guys, but it was strictly a matter of us or them now. They really should have chosen a better side.

More of Derek's lackeys flooded the aisle. I grabbed a wooden rolling ladder attached to the tall shelves, spinning it hard to smash two attackers off their feet, then shoved a heavy bookshelf sideways to block the path of two more. It was turning into a bloody sight, and I knew I looked like a cornered beast tearing through these poor fools, but I didn't care anymore.

Suddenly, the overhead lights flickered once and went black. Total darkness enveloped the library, leaving only faint shafts of late-afternoon sunlight filtering through the narrow top windows.

All fighting ground to a halt as everyone lost their footing, disoriented by the sudden pitch-blackness. But I didn't panic. I immediately sharpened my other senses, letting my ears and skin take over. My father had forced me to fight blindfolded more times than I could count. Darkness was nothing new to me.

Someone rushed me from the side, and I sidestepped the impact, sweeping his legs out from under him before he could react.

"STOP!"

Derek's loud, harsh command barked through the room, cutting through the chaos.

Everyone froze. By now, our eyes had somewhat adjusted to the dim, dusty light filtering through the windows.

My heart fractured into a thousand pieces the moment I saw what was happening in the center aisle.

Derek was holding Scarlett tightly in front of him like a human shield. His arm was locked around her neck, and his gun was pressed hard against the side of her head.

"What a fucking traitor," Derek spat out, his breathing ragged as he stared at me. "I hope Mr. Linden realizes the truth. That YOU gave out sensitive information just so you could frame me for it! You don't even deserve the Linden name!"

I forced my voice to stay level, keeping my expression blank. "And you do?"

A vein ticked in Derek’s jaw, and his grip around Scarlett’s neck tightened viciously. She let out a small, breathless whimper, and I had to forcefully tell myself to refrain from saying anything else that might anger him further.

"How about I send a confession to my father after all of this?" I offered, keeping my hands visible at my sides. "By then I'll be free, hopefully far away from here so he can't do anything to me or Scarlett anyway. He will know you didn't actually do it."

"What's the fucking use of that now?!" Derek yelled, his voice cracking with unhinged rage. "You should have heard what he said to me on the phone! Do you think I could ever go back to him after this?!"

His grip on her was getting rougher, pulling her head back, and I felt like I was rapidly losing my mind watching her suffer.

"Let her go," I said, my tone turning dangerously low. "We can settle this between ourselves, Derek."

"Fuck if I'm letting her go!" Derek sneered, pressing the barrel deeper into her temple. "We'll settle this, and then I'm taking her with me! I'll make her sign every single cent of that money over to me!"

My eyes frantically scanned Scarlett's face. She was trembling, her eyes wide with fear, but beneath the panic, I caught a flash of determination in her gaze. My stomach dropped in panic. I didn't want her doing anything dangerous, but I couldn't risk making a scene or alerting Derek that she was planning something.

Fuck.

"What exactly do you want from me then?" I asked quickly, raising my voice to keep his attention locked on me.

Derek opened his mouth to shout God knows what, but a choked sound came out of his throat instead.

Scarlett’s left hand had whipped around lightning-fast to a spot low behind Derek's hip.

Derek yowled in agonizing pain, his body jerking backward as his grip on her loosened. Scarlett didn't waste any second; she scrambled away across the floor, diving into the shadows toward where Jax was waiting.

Good. She was safe.

One of Derek's remaining guys rushed over to help him, and as Derek turned his body, I could clearly see a dark green hilted dagger buried into his buttock.

Despite the madness of the situation, a brief feeling of amusement hit me. I was glad I had given her that dagger. She was incredibly brave.

Derek gritted his teeth, his face twisting in humiliation and pure hatred. He didn't even try to pull the blade out. Instead, he raised his shaking hand, pointing the barrel of the gun at my chest once again.

My blood ran cold.

I could see the finality and resolve in Derek's eyes. He was going to shoot, and from this distance, there was no way I could dodge or avoid it in time.

My eyes automatically searched the dark aisle, desperately seeking hers. If this was really it, I wanted her face to be the last thing I ever saw in this world. She was still as fucking beautiful as the very first time she appeared in front of me.

A deafening shot rang out, shattering the quiet library.