“Don’t move, or I’ll rip your head off”, Tasha hisses between her gritted teeth, her nose almost touching Justine’s. Tasha’s whole body is compressing hers against the wall, and every time the woman tries to wriggle, she pushes harder. The back of Justine’s back hits the wall two times, then she finally makes up her mind and stops moving.

I run towards Tasha. I aim the gun at Justine’s temple and I kick away the remote, abandoned on the floor. It swirls away with a curt rustle and stops beside an old-style drinks cabinet.

With my free hand, I untie Tasha’s wrists and, immediately, she pushes her forearm against Justine’s throat, holding her in place. Tasha shows her teeth like an enraged dog and looks furiously scary. Justine’s big eyes are teary. She seems nothing more than a lonely little girl, now.

I throw a look to Jack Sanders. He’s definitely dead. He’ll be staring vacantly at the ceiling until this fucking mansion blows up, which is going to happen very soon. His son seems still lost into his own little world, but at least he’s not wheezing anymore.

Carmen and Shane are kneeled down in front of Alice and Cassandra. They untie them frantically, rapidly, and as soon as my wife gets up I run towards her, hugging her tightly. Her arms circle my neck, her fingers run across the sweated hair on my head.

“You’re okay?”, I ask her in a whisper.

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here, Dante”, she replies immediately.

I let go of her and grab her hand, kissing her palm, turning my eyes on Alice. She’s massaging his reddened wrists and wincing. Shane is speaking rapidly into her ear, and Al is nodding. Carmen brushes Shane’s back with a trembling hand and seems about to cry.

“Guys, we gotta go”, I state.

“What about those two?”, Carmen asks pointing at Justine and Johnny.

I throw my gun to Tasha. She grabs it mid-air with her sane hand and releases the trigger guard.

“Come on. Take your little friend and lead the way”, she tells Justine.

The girl seems scared but, at the same time, determined and aware.

“No. We’re not going with you”.