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"Let her go," I say again, liftingto launch it at him

"Set that downill" My firstto him I lower my backpack My father kneels before me and holds out a black weapon, then lowers his voice so that only I can hear "See this? This is an SSG with a suppressor, so nobody will hear it It’s got no safety--ready for use Shoot one of thesehard, shaking her head, but a slimy, bald man behind her forces her neck still I step away froh to kick like a soccer ball I play, and I can send it flying across the room But to who? What if I hit my mother?

I inspect the weapon and wonder how h for all theseher, yes I take it, confused that my hand doesn’t shake It’s heavy and there’s no fear, only the need to freeher neck still

Her eyes crying

One day he’ll find us Greyson

I aiest body part of the man that I can

I fire

A clean dark hole appears in his forehead The , and cries s in the air

My father takes the gun from my hand with a look of wonder and he patsher down to the garage staircase

"What are you doing? Where are you taking her?" I grab rabs me, squeezes my arms as he talks and spits in my ear, "Son, son, listen to me, they made a deal, she lost you She lost you!"

"She’d never lose rab a knife fro He releasesdown the stairs as I hear a car start

My father catches o still

"Greyson, my son, even your instincts oing to die If you die, you can’t save her Can you?"

My whole body is paralyzed He sainst my temple

"I knew you were my son I told your mother, it wasn’t nice to keep you fro for you She insisted you weren’t my son I told her if you proved to havewith your father, where you belong" He eases back and studies ave you a choice to shoot a man"

He looks up the staircase, where I know there is a ain because of ht to the head You’re my son, every inch of my son; you will be powerful and feared"

His voice chills o upstairs and I see the deadI want to kill more, kill everyone who hurt my mother "Where is she?" I ask,else with that man Me

"She will be taken somewhere else Because real men are not raised by women, you hear me? My son will not be raised by a woman Not without his father No, you will be likemy mother away The look in her eyes when I shot that man A cold panic like I’ve never felt spikes and spreads through me I want , why it rong when it was all for her Why she’s being taken away My face is suddenly wet, and I get another slap, this one shooting ainst the wall

"None of that, boy! None of it Now see thathis eye where I stabbed hi his shirt, his jeans "He’s your uncle, Greyson Uncle Eric He’s ize for what you did If you’re good and I’m happy with you, I will let you see your mother She will be kept alive only for you She was family too, and I take care of my family--but she shouldn’t have betrayed me She should never, ever, have taken you"

It took me very little time to realize how this family worked Very little time to realize that uy I killed, standing like so for him for three days whenand hoping I’d prove ht to tell me not to shoot If I hadn’t been so determined to defend her, if I’d proved to be weak, she’d be with ht unfit to be a part of this fa her, I doomed us both for the rest of our lives I showed him I was thirteen and yesI would kill, even hiood I trained I sucked back every e Zero And left when the promises and pro but e A whole big world, and all these skills, and I still don’t knohere she is