Behind me, Jon jolted. And, in that moment, I knew then that Callie had called it. None of us were going to leave this room alive. Callie … my baby … To my horror, and before I could stop her, Callie started moving towards us.

‘You and I are friends, Jon. You won’t shoot me,’ said my daughter.

Tobey tried to pull her back; she tried to wrest his hand off her forearm. Tobey moved in front of her, determination on his face.

Jon immediately pointed his gun at Tobey, though his other arm was still round my neck, hauling me closer, choking me. Callie took another step towards us. With a furious glare at her, Tobey stepped in front of my daughter again. Directly behind me, Jon’s agitation ratcheted up several notches. His arm round my neck tightened; his breathing rate increased.

‘Durbridge, stay where you are,’ Jon warned.

‘Or what?’ said Tobey, taking another step forward. ‘What will you do, big man?’ he mocked. ‘Shoot me? You haven’t got the guts.’

Jon’s body stiffened as his finger began to tighten on the trigger.

‘Tobey, no.’ I stomped down just as hard as I could on Jon’s left foot while I spun round, stepping between him and Tobey. I could only hope …

BANG! BANG!

A white-hot lance ploughed through my body, setting my whole being on fire. Clutching my abdomen, I dropped like a stone.

sixty-two. Tobey

The moment the gun sounded, I leaped forward to tackle Jon. We both crashed to the floor, his gun between us. Kicking out at me, Jon fought to point the gun at my chest. I battled to mirror his intent. Jon brought a fist up and round to punch the side of my head. Pain exploded inside my skull like fireworks. He struggled to bring his finger back to the trigger as I fought to get the gun away from him. Another punch to my head, this time with more impact. A high-pitched whistling noise instantly assailed my ears. Neon lights flashed before my eyes, but I couldn’t let go of Jon or the gun. If I did, we’d all be dead. Jon and I were so close together on the ground that there was no room to turn the gun fully so that the barrel was against the chest of either of us. Jon drew his foot back and kicked my right shin. Agony flared up my leg. Instinctively, I pulled away and headbutted him, my forehead to his nose. A crack. Jon grunted. Blood spurted from one nostril, but his grip on the gun never faltered. We both fought to reach the trigger first. I could feel it, the metal cool beneath my index finger.

BANG!

The gun going off was like a simultaneous punch to both eardrums. Instinctively, one of my hands flew to my ears, my head ringing louder now.

Jon—