Terror robbed Elle of breath and strength, and she wanted to scream and scream, to yield to her fear of pain and murder. Fear rooted her to the ground—and the ground reminded her what Adam, her mother and her own experience had taught her. She was part of this earth, she had a right to be here, and Stephen Penderghast had no justification or reason to vanquish her.

But somehow, it wasn’t that lofty ideal that motivated her. It was the single, lucid thought that illuminated her mind: I don’t have time for this.

Adam needed his sword.

She had to get it to him.

“I see you remember me. So much for your amnesia.” Penderghast put a lot of effort into his disbelief and contempt.

Deliberately she placed the sword on the table in full sight of her killer. “I do remember you.”

Yes, the tournament was a mock battle. Yet Adam had worked on that blade, he had trained with it. It deserved to be utilized, and Adam had overcome an injury to train. He deserved to use those skills to overcome his opponent and to triumph.

In that, she and Adam were alike.

She was still afraid, but she had found her focal point.

Now to figure out how to defeat a gun-wielding maniac.

“I remembered Zsóke, too, and I fought her. Law enforcement arrested her and took her away.”

“Through this entire ordeal, Zsóke has been a disappointment.” Penderghast dismissed his henchwoman. He had no interest, no affection, no love for anyone but himself. “I am impressed that you were able to take her, though.”

It wasn’t me who defeated her, it was Clarice. Elle swallowed back the words. Don’t tell him anything.

Penderghast continued. “I suppose I shouldn’t be, after what you did to me.”

From the words he spoke and the way he said them, she suspected he might be carrying a grudge. “So being almost killed by someone who stands a foot shorter and weighs a hundred pounds less rankles you?” Not the smartest thing to say, but her current situation was hopeless. She might as well challenge him.

“Because of you, I have surgeries lined up for months. Repairs. You shortened my life.” He pointed the pistol at her chest.

She trembled with a hard surge of terror.

“Does knowing that make you happy?” he asked.

She was going to die. Again. Die in agony. Leave this earth and lose everything. Love, life, happiness.

Adam.

Adam who had told her, Sometimes there’s no right way to go about disarming the enemy, and you have to go with your gut.