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My breath shook. What could I do to help the situation? With only a pen, a notebook, and a cellphone, the answer was painful. Not much.
I took out the pen and notebook. At least by annotating the situation, I could give the police the best possible eyewitness account. I wrote faster than I ever had before, leaving out any details depicting Shannon as The Raven. Something I didn’t think about, but knew instinctively I had to do.
Quinn’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and then he spoke carefully, “Don’t do anything you’ll regret for the rest of your life, man.”
Jack swung the gun toward Quinn, his hand shaking, voice pitching. “He was there for me when no one else was. I owe it to him to exact justice.”
Shannon swore, “You son of a bitch. Why? Why do you attack men just because they love other men?”
Jack cocked the gun at the same time as his head. “My brother cared about that shit. I only care about who got my brother incarcerated. I figured the best way to find you was by following the trend.”
Quinn grabbed Shannon before she lunged, and he held her back against his chest once more. He whispered something in her ear. Perhaps something to cool her down. Quinn said firmly, “That’s your idea of justice? It’ll just get you thrown in prison, right alongside your brother.”
Jack let out a gurgled sound, as if his emotions were getting the better of him. He loved his brother, that was clear. “Maybe, but I’m going to make sure The Raven goes down with me.”
The safety unlatched, a distinctive click sounded in the still air, and that’s when I knew I had something else with me that could tip the scales.
Surprise.
I dropped my notebook, stole two steps and leaped on Jack’s back as his finger went trigger-happy. My momentum knocked him forward as the gun fired.
We hit the ground with a heavy thwump! I dug my pen into his weapon-arm with all my strength as he bucked underneath me, trying to chuck me off. Thanks to self-defense lessons, I knew how to throw him off his balance—
“You fuck!”
I locked my hands around his wrist as Quinn yelled. I tipped suddenly, shoulders hitting stone.
The gun clattered as it dropped from Jack’s hand, sliding toward Shannon’s feet.
Suddenly Quinn was there, wrestling with Jack and shouting at Shannon not to do something that would make her the bad guy.
Jack thrust against Quinn’s weight, angry eyes snapping to me. “You,” he spat.
“Me,” I said, still holding my pen tightly in my grip, my knuckles scraped from the stone. “Why did you attack me, Freddy?”
“Fuck you. You should have given up the party page.” Powwach! Jack managed to land a hook over Quinn’s ear. “But at least you led me to the cripple. He made catching The Raven easy.”
“Fucker,” Quinn swore, snatching Jack into a firm hold as Shannon stepped one of her shit-kickers on the gun. Her gaze was livid, as if static streamed from her. She embodied my definition of rage.
She caught my eye, and I shook my head, clumsily trying to pull myself up. “Quinn’s right,” I said, with a cough. “You need to stop being The Raven before you become victim. None of us want you to lose your wings.”
She blinked, her gaze snapping to her brother who sat stranded in the corner.
Hunter grabbed Mitch’s shirt, drew him near and spat in his face. “I don’t ever want to see you around my friends or my sister again.”
He shoved him back, and Mitch crumpled. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to. I tried to say no.”
“But you didn’t,” Hunter said. “That’s all I need to know. Fuck off.”
“I just . . . wish I’d been there to save him the first time,” Shannon said, closing her eyes. She took a quivering breath and swept the gun far out of Jack’s reach. Jack still struggled under Quinn. “Looks like my brother really can handle himself though.”
“And the police are on their way,” I grunted, letting them all know it was soon over.
Hunter looked across at her, swiping away the blood on his lip. “Come here, sis.”
She came to his side, kneeling where Mitch had been. Mitch, who had disappeared.
I glanced at Quinn pressing his forearm against the back of Jack’s neck and hissing in his ear to keep his filthy mouth shut.
“You all right?” Quinn asked me, failing to control the panic in his voice.
I held up my pen as Shannon walked past carrying Hunter. “Really is mightier than the sword.”
The tall officer with the goatee, holding Jack back, gave us a cursory once-over, his gaze landing inquisitively on Shannon who’d passed her hooded jacket to Hunter.
Quinn stiffened next to me. I wanted to nudge the back of his hand in a gesture of comfort, but now was hardly the time or place. The officers were trying to get a grip on the situation. As soon as someone had mentioned the gun, the female officer sporting a clipped-back perm had dialed in for back up.
