Page 70 of Hard Corps (Selected Sinners MC 7)

“It’ll be just fine Katie,” I said. “We’ll all be sipping slurpies at the 7-Eleven in five minutes. I promise, Baby.”

As Shane lowered his hands and pushed them into his pockets, the robber’s eyes shifted downward and then quickly raised. As they darted back and forth between Shane and me, I gave my next command.

“Dekk, step four steps to the side slowly, and stand by your girl. He’ll move the gun when you do. Just make it slow, Brother,” I explained.

“I uhhm…” Shane began.

“Just move slowly. He doesn’t want you, he wants me because I’ve got the money,” I lied.

Shane slowly stepped to my left and wrapped his arms around Kace. Ripp, still standing to my right, was potentially in the danger zone. Normally, there would be a few ways I could disarm the man, but with the people I was trying to protect on my left, there was only one way to do it, and it was the least favorable.

“Ripp, move to my left and stand with them. I really need you to go over there, Brother. Being behind me like that makes me nervous, and I know it makes him nervous too. You’re just too damned close,” I said flatly.

“Wuh wuh what about thu thu the ten grand, fucker?” the gunman asked as he moved the gun directly in front of my forehead.

As he stood and stared at me with uncertain eyes, I slowly raised my hands as if I was scared, stopping them in front of my chest.

“I’m going to reach for my wallet with my left hand. I’ll do it slow. Hell you got that piece pushed into my forehead, so you know I won’t try a damned thing,” I assured him.

Come on, Ripp, get your big ass over there.

As Ripp stepped beside Shane and Kace, I continued.

“I’m nervous as hell, but I need you to be calm, okay? You okay with that? Me reaching for my wallet?” I asked.

I needed a reason for him to allow me to move my hands, and hoped my movement in a direction he wasn’t expecting would be much quicker than his mind could process a threat.

He nodded his head. “Yup. Suh suh slow.”

Every combat trained Marine had learned the maneuver in CQC training. It wasn’t always effective, nor was it an assurance of not being shot, but considering the location of the people I needed to protect, it was my only choice.

With my eyes fixed on his, I slowly began to move my left hand slightly forward. As soon as I noticed his eyes didn’t follow my hand, I swung my open left hand into the barrel of the pistol, and my cupped right hand into his forearm.

Instantly, he was disarmed, and I held his pistol in my right hand.

I pushed the pistol into his face, flipped the safety off, and gave my command.

“Get on your knees,” I demanded.

With wide eyes and shaking hands, he slowly lowered himself to the ground.

“Holy shit!” Ripp shouted.

“It’s all good over here, Katie,” I shouted as I followed the man’s head with the barrel of the weapon as he crouched to his knees.

Katie and Vee came around the end of the SUV, and Vee gasped as she saw what was going on.

“I’ll call the police,” she said.

“Fucking punk ass bitch. Now, I’m going to beat your ass,” Ripp said from behind me.

“Stand down, Ripp,” I said over my shoulder in a stern tone. “And Vee, don’t call the cops. Our man Dekk has to fly out for a fight in less than 48 hours, and he doesn’t need to be on the ten O’clock news, or sit in an interrogation room for eight hours.”

Katie stood and stared with her hands covering her mouth, clearly scared.

“Don’t worry, Baby. Everything will be just fine. Vee, get everyone in the car and go around the block. Just go around slowly and come back and get me,” I said.

“Go around the block?” she asked.