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“Come on, guys,” I said. “It doesn't have to go down like this.”
“You're goddamn right,” Baldy said. “Give us the bag and it won't.”
I shook my head. “I can't do that,” I say. “I can't go back to Tim empty handed. I do that, he'll put a bullet in me just as sure as you would.”
“Not my problem, kid,” Buzz Cut said. “You took a job like this knowing you could get fucked seven ways to Sunday. Not my fault you decided to roll the dice.”
“And came up snake eyes this time,” Baldy said.
“Gimme the back or I'm going to fuckin' kill you,” Buzz Cut warned.
“No, you won't,” I say. “Not here. Not on a main street like this.”
“No, we'll drag your stupid ass into the car, drive you to some remote field, and blow your fuckin' head off,” Baldy growled.
Oh. I hadn't thought about that. Never even considered that they'd kidnap me first and then murder me. Clearly, I'm not a criminal mastermind.
“Gimme the fuckin' bag, kid,” Buzz Cut said. “Tim ain't gonna kill you over it.”
Yeah, not a gamble I want to take. Buzz Cut stepped forward, hand extended for the bag. I waited until he got close enough and drove my knee straight up into his groin as hard as I could. His face turned a bright shade of scarlet as he let out a strangled gasp and doubled over, clutching his balls. The other man grabbed at me, but I danced backward, quickly getting out of his way.
Yeah, they were bigger than me, but I was a lot more agile than either one of them. I stepped forward and kicked Buzz Cut in the face. The sound of his nose snapping was so loud, I could hear it. Blood poured out of him, splattering onto the pavement at his feet.
Baldy's face was a dark mask of rage and I saw him reaching for the gun in his friend's jeans. I gave thought to grabbing my bike but realized I didn't have the time. I simply turned and took off running. I heard the sound of the shots, echoing around the parking lot like cannon fire, a moment before I saw the sparks erupting from the pavement to the right of me.
Fuck. He was actually shooting at me!
I ran for my life, my feet slapping the pavement hard and fast. I didn't bother looking behind me – I was terrified I'd see them closing in on me. I turned the corner as I heard another shot and heard the whine of a bullet pinging off the concrete. I hustled down the alley that ran between the C&S and the strip mall as quickly as I could.
My lungs burning, my heart thundering, and my legs aching, I crouched down behind some dumpsters, trying to catch my breath. I heard the sound of an engine roaring, followed by the squeal of tires on pavement. Hopefully, that was the two men leaving because in the distance, I heard sirens. Slowly leaning out, I peeked around the dumpsters and let out a breath of relief seeing that the alley was clear.
Nobody was coming. Thankfully.
I let out a loud scream though and very nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand fell on my shoulder. Spinning around, I found myself face to face with Piper. She looked at me with wide, terrified eyes, her already pale complexion, seeming to blanch even more.
“Jesus, Piper,” I gasped. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“There was gunfire,” she said, visibly shaken. “A bullet came through the window of the store.”
“Shit,” I said, taking her hand in mine. “Are you okay?”
I looked her over, terrified of seeing blood on her – terrified that she'd been shot because of me. Thankfully though, she didn't look physically injured.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, shaking her head as if coming out of a dream. “I'm fine. What are you doing here? Why are you hiding behind the dumpsters?”
The knots in my stomach constricted painfully and I had a hard time looking her in the eye. I knew I was going to have to try to lie to her and I hated myself for it.
“I – I heard the gunshots, and – ”
She looked at me, her eyes narrowed. “When I heard the first shot, I looked out the windows and saw you running across the parking lot, Shane,” she said. “Were those men shooting at you? What's going on?”
I sighed and shook my head. I didn't want to get her involved with this. Actually, I just didn't want her knowing about my “job.” I racked my brain, trying to come up with some plausible excuse for running across the parking lot and diving behind the dumpsters, but the truth was, I was so rattled, I was having a hard time forming a coherent thought.
“I – uhhh – my bike... ”
My voice trailed off beneath her withering glare. As I stood there, I saw her make the shift from terrified to angry. She knew something was up, and knew I was about to lie to her – and wasn't having any of it. She pinned me to where I stood with her steely gaze.
“Shane,” she snapped. “What's going on?”
