PIPER
"Put Benjamin down."
My voice cracks with the plea. I'm scraping myself across the emotional coals, doing anything to apply to the still-beating heart I hope exists beneath Kreshnik's evil facade.
He stares back at me blankly. His arms are curled around Benjamin, but there's nothing gentle in his hold. Nothing loving. It's the careful way someone holds a bomb they've rigged to explode.
"He's fine here. Aren't you, my little friend?" He smiles down at Benjamin. "He's a great baby, you know? Hardly cries. Very obedient. It's a shame what's going to happen to him."
The last few days, while we searched for him, I wanted so badly for Benjamin to be alive. Now, I'm not sure that was the right wish. I should have hoped for a peaceful end for him. Wouldn't that be better than this?
