10 Minutes

*9:57*

The countdown was burning into my eyes. 

Ethan was already running. He had my hand in his and we were flying down the hallway of Blackwood Tower. Behind us, his PR team was screaming into phones. 

"Get me the address!" Ethan barked at one of his guys. "Trace the livestream. Now!" 

I could barely breathe. 

Nina,tied up with a knife. 

And 10 minutes. 

"Where is she?" I said. My voice came out cracked. 

"We’ll find her," Ethan said. He shoved me into the elevator and hit B3. The parking garage. "We have to." 

The elevator doors closed. For three seconds it was just us and the red numbers counting down. 

*9:55*

"Did you see her?" I asked. "Did she look hurt?" 

"No," Ethan said. But his jaw was tight. "Not yet." 

The doors opened and we ran. His car was already idling. Two guards jumped in the front. 

"Drive," Ethan said. 

The car screeched out. 

I had my phone in my hand. I refreshed the link David sent but nothing showed. Just blank. 

"He cut the stream," I said. 

"Good," Ethan said. "That means he doesn’t want the whole world to see what he’s about to do." 

"That’s not good," I snapped. "That means he’s going to do it." 

Ethan looked at me. "We’re not going to let him." 

*9:50*

"Got it," one of the guards said from the front. "Signal traced. It’s coming from the old Miller warehouse. The one on 4th." 

Of course it was. 

The place my dad built. The place David chose to finish this. 

"How long?" Ethan said. 

"Six minutes if we run every light," the driver said. 

Ethan turned to me. "Sarah. Listen to me. When we get there, you stay behind me. No matter what. Promise me." 

I nodded. But my heart was in my throat. 

*9:45*

We were flying through the city. Empty streets. Red lights didn’t matter. 

My phone buzzed. 

Ms. Reyes. 

I answered. "We found her," I said. "She’s at the warehouse." 

"I’m sending units," Ms. Reyes said. "But they’re 8 minutes out. Sarah, you can’t go in there." 

"We don’t have 8 minutes," I said. "He gave us 10." 

"Sarah—" 

I hung up. 

Ethan reached over and squeezed my hand. "Hey. Look at me." 

I did. 

"You’re not alone in this," he said. "Not anymore. Okay?" 

I nodded. I couldn’t talk. 

*9:40*

We finally got to the warehouse. It was dark. Only one light was on inside.

David's car was parked outside.

Ethan stopped the car a block away. "Everyone out. Quietly." 

We moved.  

Inside, I could hear David’s voice. 

"...see, the problem with livestreams is everyone thinks it’s real. Until it’s too late." 

Then Nina made a muffled sound. 

Ethan motioned for the guards to stay back. He looked at me. "Stay behind me." 

We stepped inside. 

And in the middle of the floor, under a single hanging bulb. 

David. 

Sitting in a chair with his legs crossed and casual. 

And in front of him was Nina.

On her knees. Her hands tied behind her back. Duct tape over her mouth.

David had a knife in his hand. He was turning it over and over. 

"Took you long enough," he said without looking up. "I was starting to think you weren’t coming." 

"Let her go," Ethan said. His voice was ice. 

David finally looked at us. He smiled. "Ah. The happy couple. And here I thought I’d have to do this alone." 

He stood up. Walked over to Nina. Put the knife under her chin. 

"Say hi, Nina," he said. He ripped the tape off. 

Nina gasped. "Sarah! Don’t—" 

He quickly put the tape back on. 

"Rude," David said. "I was talking." 

"David," I said. My voice shook but I forced it to be steady. "This is over. The FBI is on their way. The whole world saw what you did." 

"Did they?" David said. "Because all I saw was you crying on camera with your new boyfriend. Very touching." 

He circled Nina. "You know what the worst part is, Sarah? You were mine. You were supposed to be mine. And you threw it away for this?" 

He gestured at Ethan with the knife. 

"Don’t," Ethan said. "Touch her." 

"Or what?" David said. "You’ll shoot me? Like you did in the parking garage last month?" 

Ethan went still. 

"What?" I said. 

"Oh, he didn’t tell you?" David said. "Cute. Yeah, Ethan here tried to kill me once. He missed. Just like he’s going to miss now." 

"That’s a lie," Ethan said. 

"Is it?" David said. He leaned down to Nina’s ear. "Tick tock, Nina." 

I couldn’t think. I could barely breathe. 

All I could see was Nina’s eyes. Begging. 

"Let her go," I said. "Take me instead." 

David laughed. "Now we’re talking. See, Ethan? She still loves me." 

"I don’t love you," I said. "I never did." 

David’s smile dropped. "Liar." 

He grabbed Nina’s hair and yanked her head back. The knife pressed against her throat. 

"Last chance, Sarah," he said. "Come here. On your knees. Or I open her up and you get to watch." 

Ethan moved very fast. 

Then a gunshot. 

David screamed and dropped the knife. 

But he didn’t let go of Nina. 

He grabbed her and used her as a shield, dragging her backward. 

"NINA!" I screamed. 

Blood was on David’s arm. Ethan’s shot had hit him. 

"Drop the gun!" David yelled. "Or I cut her throat right now!" 

Ethan lowered his gun. Slowly. 

"Good boy," David said. He was bleeding but he didn't care and was smiling. "Now, Sarah. Your turn. Come here." 

I looked at Ethan. He shook his head, barely. 

I ignored him. 

I stepped forward. 

"Sarah, no," Ethan said. 

"Yes," I said. 

I walked until I was three feet from David. Close enough to see the craziness in his eyes. Close enough to perceive the blood. 

"Let her go," I said. 

"First," David said. "Kiss me." 

My stomach turned. 

"What?" 

"You heard me," David said. "Kiss me. Like you used to. Like you meant it. Or Nina dies." 

Ethan made a sound like he was going to break something. 

I looked at Nina. Tears were running down her face. 

I looked at David. 

And I did the only thing I could think of. 

I stepped forward and kissed him. 

His lips were cold. 

I pulled back immediately. "Now let her go." 

David laughed. "That’s it? That’s all I get?" 

He pressed the knife harder against Nina’s throat. A very thin line of blood appeared. 

"You want her to live?" he said. "Then you come with me. Right now. We disappear. Or she dies and you get to live with it." 

Sirens. 

Far away. But coming. 

David heard them too. His face twisted. 

"Looks like time’s up," he said. "Guess we’re doing this the hard way." 

He started dragging Nina toward the back door. 

"Stop!" I yelled. 

He didn’t. 

Ethan picked up his gun. 

"Don’t," I said. "You’ll hit her." 

"I won’t miss," Ethan said. 

David reached the door. He kicked it open. 

And that’s when the lights went out. 

Everywhere went black. 

Someone screamed. Like there was a crash. 

It was Nina. Then the light came on.

Floodlights, very bright.

"POLICE! HANDS UP!" 

I was on the ground. I didn’t remember falling. 

Ethan was over me. "Sarah? Sarah, are you okay?" 

I nodded. I couldn’t speak. 

Across the room, David was on his knees. Hands up. Two officers had him. 

And Nina— 

Nina was on the floor. 

Not moving. 

"No," I said. "No, no, no." 

I crawled to her. 

There was blood. So much blood. 

"Ms. Patel!" one of the officers said. "We need medics! Now!" 

I grabbed Nina’s hand. It was cold. 

"Nina? Nina, stay with me. Please. Stay with me." 

Her eyes fluttered open. 

"Sarah," she whispered. 

"I’m here," "I’m here. You’re going to be okay." 

Nina tried to smile. "You... you did it." 

Don’t talk, I wanted to say. Don’t you dare talk. 

But I couldn’t say anything because my throat was closed. 

Paramedics pushed me aside. 

They were working on her. Cutting her shirt. Pressing things to her chest. 

"She’s lost a lot of blood," someone said. 

"BP’s dropping." 

"Get her on a stretcher. Now." 

They lifted her. 

I stood up. My legs felt like they didn’t belong to me. 

Ethan was next to me. He just stood there. 

David was being dragged out in cuffs. He looked at me and smiled. Even with blood on his face. 

"See you soon, Sarah," he said. 

I didn’t answer. 

We followed the ambulance. 

Ethan drove. I stared out the window. 

My phone was buzzing nonstop. Ms. Reyes. Reporters. The board. 

I ignored all of it. 

At the hospital, they rushed Nina into surgery. 

"Family only," a nurse said. 

"She doesn’t have any," I said. "I’m her family." 

The nurse let me in. 

I sat in the waiting room for an hour. 

Ethan sat next to me. He didn’t say anything. He just locked both of his hands together, facing down.

A doctor came out. 

"She’s stable," he said. "We stopped the bleeding. She lost a lot of blood but she’s going to make it." 

I broke. 

I put my face in my hands and really cried, for the first time since this started. 

Ethan’s arms came around me. 

"I thought she was dead," I whispered. 

"I know," Ethan said. "Me too." They let me see Nina for five minutes. 

She was asleep. Bandaged. An IV in her arm. 

She looked small. 

I held her hand. "Thank you," I whispered. "For believing me." 

She didn’t answer. 

I kissed her forehead and left. 

In the hallway, Ms. Reyes was waiting. 

"He’s in custody," she said. "Attempted murder. Kidnapping. Everything. He’s not getting out this time." 

"Good," I said. 

"Sarah," Ms. Reyes said. "The livestream. It has 20 million views. People believe you. Miller Tech’s stock is up." 

I didn’t care. 

"Can I go home?" I said. 

Ethan answered for me. "Yes. She’s going home." 

We drove in silence. 

When we got to my apartment, Ethan walked me to the door. 

"You should stay at my place," he said. "Just tonight. So you’re not alone." 

I shook my head. "I need to be alone." 

Ethan nodded. He looked like he wasn't ok with my decision and wanted to insist, but he didn't.

"Call me," he said. "If you need anything. Anything at all." 

"I will," I said. 

He leaned in and kissed my forehead. Soft. 

"Get some sleep, Sarah." 

He left. 

I locked the door. 

And for the first time in months, I felt safe. 

I went to the bathroom, washed my face. 

When I came out, there was a note on my kitchen counter. 

I didn’t put it there. 

It said: 

“You think it’s over? It’s just starting. -D

And under it. 

A photo of me asleep in my bed. 

Taken tonight.