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Of course, I’m very aware that there’s a third option as well, but I don’t want to think of Annabelle as an involved party, that idea is utterly petrifying. We might not be the best of friends now, but she left me to be targeted. I can’t imagine her sitting back and simply allowing bad things to happen to me and Jordan.
“I told you that we knew each other.” Landon sounds pleased with himself. “You didn’t want to hear it.”
Will shakes all over, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. The gun is still clasped between his fingers but he doesn’t look as confident as he did before. He might not fire it now. He might accept death.
“You can’t be a very good cop, old friend, if you don’t know that the man who you were best man for is the criminal that the whole town is after. That isn’t going to look very good with work, is it? You might well be better off dead. Me killing you is probably doing you a favor, and I already owe you so much.”
“You owe me my fucking life, you asshole!” Will spits back. “You shouldn’t fucking kill me.”
“I gave you the chance to life, I offered you a way out and you refused to take it.” Landon shrugs as if this logic makes any sense at all. “You didn’t want to be a part of it and I have to get you off my trail one way or another. The companies which have been very good to me over time are getting annoyed. I don’t want them to freak out and back out of our agreement. I need them, you know. You’re spoiling things for me.”
Where the fuck are the other police? I can’t hear anyone coming. Michelle must have contacted them by now. I’m sure she got out of here, I don’t have any doubt that she’s succeeded in escaping. I have to believe that. I have to try and be patient and hope that they arrive soon enough. Before something really bad can happen.
My heart thumps so loudly I’m sure they must be able to hear it, but neither Will or Landon turn to look at me. They’re locked in a fight, like stags with their horns locked as they battle for territory. Half of this is just a male ego fight that neither of them want to back down from. It’s ridiculous.
“Unfortunately for you, Will, it’s too late for you to change your mind now. You’ve seen me. You know my business and my plans. I could pay you off like I was originally going to, but a rich man is only quiet for so long. A dead man is silent forever. I don’t want it to end this way. It shouldn’t be me verses you, that’s not how I wanted any of this to go down. Just know that you will always be my friend, and I’ll always regret this.”
I wait for Will to do something. I’m expectantly looking at him, desperate for him to act. There must be something that he can do to make all of this end in a better way. Or even just stall it. The cops are coming, I’m sure. But as Landon lifts his gun, it doesn’t seem like Will is going to do anything. He’s been shocked so much that he can’t react. I don’t blame him, but being shocked isn’t good. This isn’t the time.
“No!” All of a sudden, this word flies from my mouth and I stagger forwards. My body has taken control of the situation for me. Foolishly, instead of helping now I’m in view. From the look on Will’s face he isn’t impressed with me acting this way, but what was I supposed to do? Should I simply step aside and let him die? “No, Landon. Don’t do this, please don’t do
this.” I clasp my hands together in a prayer gesture. “You don’t want to do this. Think about Annabelle, she wouldn’t want this. She’s… well, you know. She wouldn’t want this to happen. You’re going to tear our family apart.”
“Oh God, you’re still here.” Landon rolls his eyes at me. “That wasn’t part of the plan. You do realize that you’ve just written your own death warrant, don’t you? You’ve seen my face now, you have to go.”
“No, but Annabelle,” I gasp. “She wouldn’t want me dead. She wouldn’t…”
“Annabelle ordered this,” he sneers back. “She wanted this to happen. She wanted all of you dead, baby included, but I might be a criminal but I’m not that sick. But that cousin of yours… she’s something else. That’s why I like her.”
“No.” I refuse to accept that. He’s just trying to psyche me out. “No way. There’s no way.”
I shake my head desperately, trying to get a grasp of myself. He’s winding me up, trying to get me to react. But I’m not going to.
It’s a shame I’m not the only one here…
Chapter Thirty – Will
I lurch for Landon, I can’t stop myself anymore. I might have allowed him to talk me around, Landon had me so shocked that I was just about to be killed without even putting up a fight, but Cici being here has changed me. I thought that she was with Michelle and Jordan, I assumed that they were all okay, but now I need to act.
My fists fly, my legs kick out, I’m attacking Landon like a wild animal. I can feel my teeth baring, ready to bite down on the first bit of flesh that I come across. This isn’t a normal fight, this is a battle for survival, this is an attack on the man that I trusted forever, that I believed was my friend. I can’t believe after all this time that it’s him. I’m a fucking idiot. Maybe the signs were always there. There’s a chance that he’s right, I might well lose my job over this, in which case I don’t know who I’ll be anymore. I need to make this right.
“You fucking… asshole!” I burst out like a firework being set off. “You prick.”
“Just calm down…” Unfortunately for me, Landon is giving as good as he gets. I can feel him connecting with me everywhere, hot spikes of pain everywhere but nothing enough to actually derail me. “Stop this.”
I can hear Cici screaming, and that sound is the only thing keeping me going. The fact that she’s here and she’s in danger brings out an intense need inside of me. I’m an alpha male who needs to protect the woman under my command. A primal urge makes me stronger, more desperate, and much more powerful.
“You stop this,” I pant back as a trickle of something… either blood or sweat, pours down my face. “You’re the one who’s doing all of this, you can just stop this now. It doesn’t need to be like this.”
We break apart, almost automatically and stare at one another intensely. Inside of Landon I can see the man who I’ve always been friends with, the person who I stood at the end of the aisle with to send him into married life, the person who I’ve had endless nights out with, laughed with, cried with, talked to, shared my personal issues with, listened to him… but he’s also a stranger. He’s Kingpin, the guy in charge of the most major drugs operation ever. He’s Charles Manz,, the guy who’s been destroying me from this inside out. This version of him is willing to do anything to stay on top. Even kidnap my son, kill me. I just can’t believe it.
“Landon, we can talk about this.” I don’t mean to plead with him, but I can’t quite separate the two versions of him just yet. My friend is still in there, even if I really don’t want him to be. “Let’s just talk this through.”
“You don’t understand, do you?” Landon shakes his head as if he’s amused by me. “You don’t get it. I’m a killer, that’s a big part of what I do. Do you even bother to keep tabs on the junkies you let go after they’ve been questioned? Probably not, I mean, they’re just scum of the earth, aren’t they? Not worth your time. Well, if you take a look into it, you might realize that not many of them still exist in this realm. I’ll do anything to keep my empire the amazing thing that it is. I might like you, but I’ve liked them too. I liked them and now they’re gone.”
All of a sudden, we’re distracted by the sound of sirens. Police sirens, which means back up is coming. Maybe Jones ordered it, maybe someone else did. Michelle’s got away, it could’ve been her, either way Landon’s about to panic now. He’s going to want to get out of here one way or another. I can see it in his eyes.
Landon lifts his gun again and he points it at me. “I have men everywhere, guys who are ready to take the shot. The fact that you’ve got back up coming really pisses me off. I didn’t want it to be like this. And if you even think about dragging your sorry gun out of your pocket, there’s going to be a lot of trouble.”
