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“See you in a few minutes,” Brenda whispered to Mack as Stan returned to Joey's warehouse.
Mack watched Brenda disappear into the darkness. Sure, it would be easy for him to secure the back door, but that would only cause Joey's men to take cover outside. Mack wanted to lure Joey's men inside and pick them off one at a time.
“But the game has changed. Joey has a hostage. What's his game?” Mack asked himself, struggling to see how Joey's mind was working. “He's at the front and luring our attention to him...”
Mack shot his eyes through the darkness. He could barely see the back door from the stack of wooden crates he was hiding behind. “Right, old trick. I need to keep Curanto's men from even entering, keep them at bay while Brenda handles her end?”
Brenda moved forward, slipping through the darkness, moving toward the front of the warehouse where Joey was standing with Amy. The dim, cold, gray light gave weak life to the area, allowing Brenda to move with ease.
“You have five minutes to give yourselves up or she's dead!” Joey called out into the dark warehouse, expecting Stan, Smiley, and Roberto to come crashing through the back door at any second. When only silence replied back and the back door remained closed, Joey frowned.
“Where are they?” he whispered. “Any day now.”
Joey pulled Amy away from the door, stepping back into the front room. “Andy, check the alley!” he whispered into a gray cell phone.
Andy jumped out of the limo he was sitting in, ran around to the back of the crummy warehouse, arriving just in time to see Stan slicing the back door of Joey's warehouse open with a hunting knife. Roberto and Smiley were nowhere in sight.
“Stan is coming through the back door now, Mr. Curanto. I don't see Roberto or Smiley.”
“Stan probably repositioned them,” Joey suggested, feeling confidence surge through hi
s chest again. “Get back to the limo and wait.”
“Move,” he told Amy, pushing her back to the door. But this time he placed his gun up against the side of her head. “Lawson. You have—”
Joey saw gray light appear in the back of the warehouse. Stan was moving inside.
“You're now trapped. My guys are moving inside. Either give yourself up or this girl dies. If you cooperate I'll let you all live. All I want is the tape.” Joey threw the lame lie into the air. “I know you taped Amy's confession. Give me the tape and I'll let you live.”
What a liar. Brenda thought with disgust, easing closer to Joey's position with her gun at the ready. It's time to kill this rat.
Brenda slipped behind a stack of crates and eyed the door Joey was standing in. She had a clear shot. “Time to—” Brenda stopped speaking when she heard gun fire erupt in the back of the warehouse.
Joey quickly pulled Amy away from the door, kicking the door closed with his foot. At the same time, she tried to kick Joey in his foot and push the large man away from her.
Joey growled, pushed Amy down, and aimed his fancy Russian gun at her.
“Wrong move, girl,” he hissed.
Brenda kicked the door open just as Joey was about to feed Amy the full clip of bullets.
Joey spun around on surprisingly swift legs and began firing. Brenda rolled off to her side and fired off her own round of bullets, all but two, catching Joey square in the chest. Joey's fat body jerked violently and then hit the floor.
The bullet bounced off Joey’s bulletproof vest but Brenda didn’t seem to notice. He groaned with intense pain, but still very much alive.
“I'm out of here!” Amy screamed, crashing out of the front door and vanishing into the snow.
“Amy!” Brenda yelled, chasing after the girl. As soon as she reached the front door, Joey fired off the last bullet in his gun. It struck Brenda in her left shoulder. Brenda let out a painful cry as her body was flung forward and crashed down outside onto a hard snow. The fall knocked Brenda’s Glock from her grip.
Joey quickly, but painfully, slipped a spare clip into his gun and crawled to the front door, seething with bind rage.
“No one shoots Joey Curanto. No one!” he hollered at the top of his lungs.
Brenda was in clear sight, struggling to stand to her feet, while reaching for her gun.
“No!” a voice screamed.
“What?” Joey turned his head just in time to see Amy's foot connect with his face. For a few seconds his world went black. When his vision returned, he saw Brenda aiming her gun at him.
