Free Rose of Jericho (Lilith Adams Series Book 2) by Jenny Allen Page B

need…” In one smooth, calculated motion, Farren turned, sighted down the gun and shot Gregor in the knee cap. Her father cried out and would have crumpled to the ground if Peisinoe hadn’t been holding him still. Blood splattered against the wall and Lilith’s ears just kept ringing as tears welled in her eyes. “Not him.”
    Lilith leapt to her feet and the only thing keeping her from vaulting over the table was Chance and Cohen’s grip on her arms. “You monster!” She screamed with all the venom and hate she’d been bottling up for weeks as both men fought to get her back in her seat.
    “Lily, Cherie . Please.” Chance kept repeating it over and over. She knew he was right but her father’s howls of pain still echoed around the room, tearing at her skull. She was completely powerless. Lilith could only sit there and listen to the screams of agony ripping their way out of her father’s throat. She’d listen to Peisinoe’s ballads of terror for a hundred years to take back the sound of her father in so much anguish.
    Farren calmly strolled across the room towards Gregor. Every step closer to her father was like a dagger to her heart as her eyes flickered from her father to Farren and back again. She fought for each labored breath as Chance finally stood and wrapped his arms around her to keep Lilith from vaulting over the table. She half-heartedly shoved him away, her eyes intently focused on Farren and the gun in his hand. No no no no, her mind screamed over and over.
    Farren stopped next to Gregor and pressed the gun to his temple. Her father flinched from the hot barrel but Farren just shoved the gun harder against him, twisting her father’s neck with the force. Gregor’s eyes stayed solely on Lilith, willing her to understand a million different things, but he didn’t dare speak.
    “No! Please!” Lilith screamed in pure desperation.
    “We’ll cooperate. Please, there is no need for this!” Chance growled in an almost feral voice as stood beside her, hands white-knuckling the table top.
    Farren’s face transformed into a cold grin of victory but he still held the gun firmly to her father’s head. “Ah. So there is something you both want?”
    “Lilith, please just cooperate.” Cohen’s voice sounded tired and bored, as if he was trying to get through a college lecture uninterrupted. Lilith flashed her eyes to Cohen. He was still sitting in his chair, watching everything with the same defeated mask. She just wanted to rip it off of him.
    “You fucking coward! Are you just gonna sit there? Do something!”
    Cohen bit his lip for a second, his hands clenching before he finally looked up at her. All she could see was frustration, like she was some sort of petulant child refusing to behave. “And what, exactly, would you like me to do? Throw myself in front of the bullet for a mass murderer? I don’t think so.”
    With a scream of white-hot rage, Lilith kicked and caught Cohen right in his small chin, making his teeth rattle in his skull. Chance’s strong arms clamped around her from behind and dragged her away from Andrew who was yelping in pain, clutching his bloody mouth.
    “Dammit, Lilith, are you trying to get everyone killed. Stop. Please.” Chance leaned in closer, his growling voice low enough so just she could hear. “ You are supposed to keep my temper in check, love. You aren’t doing your father any favors by losing it.”
    She went limp in his arms, tears flooding down her cheeks as she fought to just breathe. It felt like her chest was in a vice, impossibly tight with every strained breath. Chance spun her around, hugging her to his chest as his hand ran softly through her auburn curls, giving her every bit of strength he could spare.
    “If I finally have your attention...” Lilith looked around Chance’s shoulder to see Farren standing beside her father, the gun at his side. “Cooperate and I will allow your father to live…for now, but do NOT test my patience. Your