Bo wouldn’t go into specifics about what they said exactly, but she couldn’t move a muscle. He made that quite clear.

He couldn’t even move near her. The bomber was watching them. He left a phone near her, not in reaching distance, but it didn’t matter. As soon as Bo realized she went missing, he had known where to look. How? She still couldn’t figure that out and was too afraid to ask. He showed up within ten minutes of her regaining consciousness. The moment he arrived, the phone rang.

His face contorted into rage as he listened, but said nothing. The only words he spoke were, “You’ll die before the day ends.” Then the phone smashed into pieces after he flung it across the floor.

Bo had reassured her everything would be fine, then pelted her with questions. Who did this? What did they look like? How long had the timer been ticking?

She couldn’t answer any of it. She didn’t remember anything.

The last thing she remembered was leaving the precinct pissed at him, her words resonating in the air. “I can’t do this anymore. Just stay the hell away from me.”

As soon as she reached her car, she felt the worst jolt she ever experienced in her life. She figured she was tased. She felt a nasty pain in her back, probably aftereffects from the Taser. Of course, did that matter? She had a bomb strapped to her chest, ticking away.

15:51…15:50…15:49…

Fifteen minutes and then she would die.

Unless Bo shot her first before the timer ran out.

She managed, after he calmed down enough to speak, to persuade him to tell her what the man said.

He had to kill her. One shot to the head, or the bomb would explode, destroying everything in its path within a three-block radius. Which included a school nearby.

Five minutes had already passed by. Police were trying to evacuate the area, but she didn’t think they’d get everyone out in time. They were in a residential neighborhood. She was sitting in the home she and Bo were supposed to buy. To build a life.

Now, she’d die here.

The bomber said he could see everything. If Bo approached her, he’d blow everything with a touch of a button. No trying to diffuse the bomb. If Bo didn’t kill her before the time ran out, the bomb would explode. As soon as she was dead, he’d disarm the bomb with a touch of a button. Everyone else would live.

One little button held all the control.

“Do it.”

“Goddamnit, sweetheart, I’m not killing you!”

“Sweetheart?”

Bo’s eyes filled with pain, even more than before, as he dropped to the ground on his knees. “What you said earlier…I know you meant it. But, Bella blue, I love you. I’m sorry I screwed everything up. I’m sorry for everything.” His eyes said he wanted to come closer and pull her into his arms. “If that bomb explodes, we die together. What I’m not going to do is kill you. I. Am. Not. Killing. You. Got it?”

“People will die, Bo. There’s no—”

“Tell me you love me.”

Her eyes filled with tears. She did love him. So damn much her heart wanted to explode from the amount of love she held for him. Which was why she had to end things before their love tore them apart.

“Tell me…”

She glanced at the timer.

10:01…10:00…9:59…

Less than ten minutes to live.

Why would someone do this? To her? To them? What did she do to deserve this?

“You don’t lo—”

“I love you!” The pain in his voice gutted her. She almost fell over from the agony. “I forgive you. For everything. Now, pick up your weapon and kill me.”

The tears ran steadily down her face. Silent. Soft. But deadly. She saw the fear in his eyes. The knowledge that something needed to be done or they would die. They would all die.

Or just her.

She was ready to die. Complete acceptance. Her tears weren’t of regret or fright. They were for Bo and what he needed to do. How would he survive the aftermath? How would he ever forgive himself?

Simple. He wouldn’t.

That’s what this madman wanted. Bo to feel the pain. To live with the horror of his actions. Why else would someone do this? Why would he want Bo to kill her? What did she do to deserve this?

She might be ready to die, but the reason still confused her.

“I’m sorry. It’s okay, Bo. Truly, it is.”

“Don’t apologize.” His breath hitched. “And don’t say shit like that. It’s not okay. I’m not shooting you.”

1:00…0:59…0:58…

She didn’t need to look down to see the timer slowly dwindling away. The dread in his eyes told her.

“There’s not much time.” Offering a smile that did nothing to soothe the wrinkles of terror on his forehead, she amped it up to a full-on sparkling smile. “You’re okay dying with me. I get that. But what about all those innocent people? Are you willing to sacrifice them? Just do it.”

0:33…0:32…0:31…

“I love you, Bella blue. Please…I…can’t.”

With a slight nod, barely noticeable, but enough for him to see, she knew he loved her. She couldn’t keep saying the words back. He was stalling. Wasting time. He had to pull the trigger.

0:14…0:13…0:12…

“Bo…those people.”

His voice broke. “I can’t!”

0:07…0:06…0:05…

“I love you, Bo.”

There. One last time to alleviate the ache in his chest. She knew he needed to hear it one more time.

0:03…0:02…

Bang.

Copyright © 2018 Amanda Siegrist.

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