Chapter 21 · Try Seventeen

"You're not dead yet." Kyle's voice came from behind him, not from where the gun had fired.

Mark rolled left. The concrete bit into his shoulder. Emma was flat against the far wall, the gun still in her hand, barrel pointing at the floor now. Smoke curled from the muzzle.

"Emma."

"He told me what to say." Her voice cracked. "He told me exactly what to say to you. Three loops ago."

Kyle stepped into the light, hands in his pockets like he was walking into a coffee shop. "She's been very good. Haven't you, Emma?"

"Go to hell."

"Already there." Kyle smiled. "Seventeen times in this building alone. You know how many ways I've died here, Mark? Twelve. You shot me nine times. Emma shot me twice. Once I just fell down the elevator shaft because I got cocky."

Mark pushed himself up. His ribs screamed where he'd hit the ground. Emma's shot had gone wide. Deliberate or luck, he didn't know yet.

"Where's the witness?" Mark asked.

"Which one? I've killed three witnesses in this loop already. You're going to have to be more specific."

"The girl. The one from the hotel."

Kyle tilted his head. "Oh, her.