A Captive Situation (Kings of New York)

Sawyer shot Lane.

Holy shit.

He stepped to the side as the minivan burst inside the warehouse, at the same exact time Sawyer pulled her trigger so her bullet grazed him.

Holy fuck.

Holy fuck.

She almost shot him. She did shoot him. She could’ve killed him.

He didn’t even wince as the bullet skimmed the side of his arm. He just stopped in his tracks and fixed Sawyer with an impenetrable darkness. Murder. He was going to kill her.

No.

No, he would not.

But as the three of us were holding in our death-off, the door for the minivan opened. The cast of Goonies spilled out of the minivan. It wasn’t the actual cast, but it was the same effect, as two dogs, four women who were pushing slightly older than middle age, two guys, and Blake Green flooded from the vehicle.

Later I would contemplate how all of them fit in there. Now, I wasn’t the only one caught off-guard. The four older women all had different weapons in their hands and they ran right toward Lane’s men. One was throwing out nunchucks. What the—I couldn’t even finish that thought.

Lane’s gaze zeroed in on Sawyer.

He began to raise his gun again.

So did I, and I was moving before he could pull the trigger. My feet took me to stand in front of Sawyer. I wanted to pull the trigger. My finger was itching to do it. It’d be so easy. I’d done it before. My blood was pumping fast through my body.

At the same time, Blake’s voice yelled over everyone. “Don’t! Don’t shoot. Stop.” She screamed, making her voice break. She looked as if she were trying to literally stop the bullets from passing through air, as if she had that power.

Lane’s reaction was swift, his eyes widening, jerking straight to her like she was a magnet for him.

Lane’s men turned their guns on her, except for the two defending themselves against Clara and Bess. I didn’t know the other two, but judging by the resemblance of the petite woman, I was guessing that was Sawyer’s mom. Her and the last woman weren’t doing anything. Clara was trying to karate chop a guy with her hands. Her knee rose up in a Karate Kid rendition while Bess was swinging the nunchucks. She had no idea how to use them so they were mostly banging up her arms as she was dodging them herself. Sawyer’s mom jumped in to give the guy’s shin a kick.

The fourth still wasn’t doing anything, except when one of them men turned a gun on the other women, a mean glint gleamed in her eyes and she charged him. She was using her body like a bowling ball. That was . . . That was a different fighting technique. He didn’t see her coming and she took him down. She was turning to repeat the process on another guy when Lane’s voice cleared the room. “Stop. Now.”

It was low but filled with authority. Everyone froze, adhering to his order.

Lane stalked forward, snarling at his men, “No guns pointed at her. Point them down. Now.” Anger was brimming over his face, the first real emotion I had seen on him. Most of his men realized their mistakes and corrected themselves, but two weren’t so fast.

Lane growled, shooting both in the head.

Their bodies fell to the ground.

The rest of his men scrambled, dropping their guns in their haste.

Also, fuck, he was a good shot too.

“Oh no.” Sawyer began crying. These weren’t soft or simple tears. They were soul-encumbered, big and fat tears that were rolling down her face. “My family.”

She started to go for them, but I caught her arm. “Give me your gun, babe.”

She shuddered, and I pulled her into my arms. Pressing her forehead into the crook of my neck and shoulder. I felt her push the gun into my hand and without letting her go, I put the safety back on and stuffed it inside my back pocket. Sawyer’s hands grazed mine as she helped put the flap back over it, then tugged my shirt on top. After that, she wrapped both her arms tight around me.

We were taking a moment.

“Round them up. Now!” Lane barked.

His men began going for Sawyer’s family, but they stopped when Green spoke up. “No.”

I moved Sawyer out of the way, easing her toward her aunts. As I did, I could see Green and Lane embroiled in an intense stare-off, not that different from the murder-off the three of us had been in a few seconds earlier.

His eyes narrowed, holding hers.

Her order had been just that, an order. She didn’t say it with a hitch in her voice. There was no uncertainty in her. She wasn’t scared. She said it as if they would do as she said. Confidence rolled off her. She cocked her chin up, her eyes flashing a challenge as she continued to hold Lane’s gaze.noveldrama

She added, her voice dipping low, “I said no, Creight.”

His face went cold. “Quo—”

“Do not fucking call me that, and I’m firm on this. Let. Them. Go.” She drew her chin up even higher, defiance sparking from her gaze. Her hands went into her pockets, an almost contradiction of her assertiveness, but it didn’t make her seem as if she were challenging him. She was outright commanding him.

Who was this girl to my psychopathic cousin?

“Let them go, Creighton. I won’t say it again.”

The rest of us were forgotten. Seeing that, knowing that, I kept edging backward. Lane couldn’t look away from Green anymore and that needed to be capitalized on.

He countered, taking a step toward her, “Them for you.”

She sucked in a ragged breath, her eyes bleak. “No.”

“Quokka—”

She threw a hand in the air, palm toward him. “I will lose my shit if you say that name one more time.” She tucked her chin now, losing some of that assertiveness.

Seeing her switch, Lane put his gun away. He gentled his tone. “Blake. I want you—”

Her chin jerked back up, and she snapped, “I don’t give a shit what you want. They all go free, and I mean it. Not one of them will be harmed. The people each of them love will not be harmed. This fight with Sawyer, with your own cousin, will end now.”

“He took you from me.”

She threw back, just as quickly, “You only knew where I was because of him.”

His eyes narrowed to slits. “I would’ve found you.”

“Yes, you would’ve, but not as fast. You should be thanking him.” Her nostrils flared as she spoke, and she moved closer to him. “I’m not coming back home, but I also won’t run.”

“Come home—”

She cut him off. “You have my terms.” She took another step, close enough to touch him if she chose. Her hands were still in her pockets. She tilted her head up to stare into his eyes and she breathed out, “Choose.”

A look flared over him. I didn’t recognize it, but it was gone quickly. I wasn’t going to wait around and decide what he was going to say. He was a fucking psychopath. I pivoted around, hauling Sawyer with me, and I herded her to the minivan. The husbands were holding their dogs back, right by the doors. I motioned to them. “Get in. Everyone, get the fuck in. Now.”

Urged on by my voice, the steel in it, the guys hopped in, but Graham took hold of Sawyer. He pulled her with him, and I got a glimpse at the set of his face. She was nonnegotiable to him. I gave him a small nod, and he caught it, his mouth parting, just slightly. The aunts were all chattering, hurrying inside. As soon as the last one was in, Sawyer moved to the seat beside me. She leaned out, but not one, two, or three hands grabbed for her. Four hands took hold of her, as if they were scared she’d slip out of their hold.

She wasn’t going anywhere.

She leaned toward me. “Come with us.”

I looked over my shoulder.

Lane and Green were both watching us.

My cousin met my gaze and we shared a look. We both understood each other at that moment. I didn’t know how, but a clarity came over me suddenly. He was going to choose to let all of us live, but I caught a shroud of darkness at his edges, and I said to Green, “Make him promise to let them live their fullest and happiest lives. That means sans torture or interference from him in any way.”

That darkness flashed bright, hot, before it slunk away. He would’ve let them live, but barely. It was his work-around.

Green’s eyes filled with outrage and she rounded on him. “You will leave them the fuck alone. They live, all of them, and they live to their happiest ability and everything he just said.”

There was no change from him.

She dropped her voice, but it was loud enough for me to hear. “They took me in, Eight. They cared about me in the span of knowing me for only a second.”

He switched his murderous gaze from me to her, and they gentled. The shift was so fast, it was like flipping the lights on. Poof and the shadows were gone. They were lit up, but that was her effect on him.

I saw the capitulation in him, and rounded. Fusing my mouth with Sawyer, I breathed against her lips, “I love you.”

I felt and heard her gasp but then I ripped myself away, slammed shut the door, and pounded on it once. “Go!”

It shot out of there.