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The guy holding onto Samuel shifted his weight and dropped one hand to hook a thumb in his pocket.
That was very good for Samuel.
“I’m so sorry,” Jessica said without any remorse at all.
The guy was right-handed, but he had his weapon shoved in his left pocket, closest to Samuel. It was an idiotic move, but one he was grateful for. The weapon wasn’t even holstered.
Edward tilted his head to the side. “I must admit you’re prettier than I expected you would be.”
Samuel wanted to put a bullet between the guy’s eyes for simply looking at her.
Jessica rolled her eyes. “Fuck you.”
Everyone’s attention was on the banter. Samuel heaved a heavy sigh, but the guy didn’t so much as look at him.
He prayed Jessica kept rolling with that mouth of hers. So long as everyone’s attention was on her, he could make a move.
Edward shook his head. “How does one woman manage to be such a pain in the ass?”
Samuel swayed closer to his captor.
Jessica grinned. “It’s a gift. What can I say?”
He bent his arm just a little bit so that the firearm was mere inches away. If he could grab it and fire off a few shots to scatter their enemies, he had hope. But if they moved from this location? If Edward got them anywhere else? Samuel didn’t have any hope for them.
“As lovely as this chat is…” Edward spread his hands. “I have things to do. Bring her. Kill him.”
“No!” Jessica shrieked and lunged forward.
The goon holding Samuel took a step forward before he could move, effectively removing the weapon from Samuel’s reach.
Oliver had Jessica by the shoulders now.
She jerked away from the puny man. “I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll answer whatever questions you have. But I don’t cooperate if you kill him.”
Part of Samuel’s mind that wasn’t obsessed with tracking each person’s movements held onto her words. This was Jessica, who’d moved heaven and earth for the sake of her best friend who was more like family. And Jessica was willing to throw away everything she’d done on account of him.
Jessica might feel a duty toward him, to make things right, but he didn’t think she’d sacrifice the safety of the most important person in her life on his account if he didn’t mean something to her.
His heart ached and more than anything he wanted to get more time with this woman. He wanted to figure out why she risked so much. He wanted to better understand what made her tick. He wanted to see one of these charity galas she threw and the communities she worked with in person, not just in photographs. He wanted to experience all of that with her. He wanted to cheer her on.
But first, they had to survive.
“Hm.” Edward studied her then glanced at Samuel. “Kill him. I don’t negotiate.”
“No!” Jessica shrieked, drawing all attention to her.
Samuel wasn’t in the best spot, but he moved anyway. They’d bound his wrists with duct tape, of all things. He reached out and snatched the weapon from his captor’s pocket before the man could react. While he was whirling to face Samuel, Samuel fired his first shot. Point-blank into the man’s chest.
That was going to hurt if it wasn’t fatal. Samuel knew first-hand.
More shots fired.
Samuel ducked his head and dove for Oliver, who was trying to wrestle Jessica away without any luck. Samuel dove into the smaller man, swinging him around so his grip was ripped from Jessica. As a bonus, Oliver was now between Samuel and Edward. A human shield.
But Edward was gone.
Two gunmen inside the loading dock were firing out, but not at Samuel. They were firing over his head at someone else who was laying down cover fire for Samuel and Jessica.
