“Not stupid,” Rafe chided. “It’s never stupid to hope.”

She looked at him then, her mouth turning up in a sad smile. “Thank—”

But she never got to finish. A gunshot cracked the air, followed by a shrill curse behind them, and they spun to see Erin sinking to the snow. Which was rapidly growing bright red with her blood.

“Down,” Rafe barked, shoving Mercy into the snow, just as Gideon shouted “Gun!” Rafe pulled his weapon, looking frantically for a shooter.

Fucking hell. Looked like Eden wasn’t so deserted after all.

TWENTY

MODOC COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 3:45 P.M.

Mercy looked up from where Rafe had pushed her into the snow. And she saw him.

Ephraim. He’d come from the far edge of the compound, from the direction of the school, but he’d made it as far as the church before he’d started firing.

“There, behind the church!” She pointed to Ephraim, who’d taken cover behind the domed roof of the earth shelter that was the largest and tallest of all of the structures in the compound. She and her group were out in the open, only able to hide behind the trees, while he was protected by earth and stone. “Rafe, he’s right there!”

“Gideon!” Rafe shouted. “Behind you!”

Ephraim had snuck up on them, separating them from the way out. No way out. The words taunted her mind, singing gleefully every time she tried to push them away. To shove them in the box in her mind. To nail the lid shut. You’re trapped. Trapped. No way out.

She watched, unable to take her eyes off Ephraim as he appeared above the church’s roofline, his rifle aimed at Gideon. Who was crouching next to Erin, cradling his hand to his chest and reaching for the weapon he’d dropped in the snow.

Mercy could see the snow tinged with red below his hand. Ephraim had shot him and was still shooting. She’d counted five shots already, all fired in rapid succession. Most magazines held ten rounds, but high-capacity magazines could hold thirty or even more.

How many rounds did Ephraim’s rifle magazine hold?

Cursing, Rafe lurched to the side because Gideon was blocking his line of fire. “Gideon, get down!”

Daisy yanked Gideon down just as Ephraim fired again, the bullet going wide to hit the tree where Gideon’s head had been only seconds before. Bark flew everywhere and, beside her, Rafe cursed again. Mercy could feel the fear rolling off him and that set her own panic spiraling, dragging her down.

Down, where it was dark and numb and nothing hurt.

“Mercy,” Rafe hissed. “Stay with me. We’re going to be okay. I won’t leave you. Stay with me.”

The sound of his voice was like an anchor, holding her for a moment. Just long enough to think. No more. She would not disappear. Not today. She dug her nails into her own wrist with the hand she’d bared to comfort Gideon, the small spike of pain helping her focus. Keeping her centered.