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Carlotti made a dramatic show of looking around Remington and behind him. “Where is he?”
The words carried to where I stood.
He was looking for me. Did he have men combing the area, looking for our vehicles? If one of them took me, Ambrose would lose it. I was dressed in all black and well out of the light, but I crouched down, making myself as small as possible.
25
Ambrose
When Carlotti asked for Eric, I wanted to rush him. I felt Beau watching me, and he’d probably been told to grab me if I stepped out of line. I barely resisted the urge to glare at him.
“We have things to discuss before we bring out the sheriff,” Remington said.
I gritted my teeth and squeezed my hands into fists. Carlotti didn’t deserve to even be in Eric’s presence. He was pure evil. Eric was kind and understanding and so much more than I deserved.
I pushed those thoughts away. If I let myself get lost in the spiral of my mind, I wasn’t going to be the protector Eric needed.
“There’s nothing to talk about. You’re going to hand over Sheriff Winston, then you’re going to quietly walk away. Or… you could stay and watch me have some fun with him.”
I couldn’t take anymore and started to step forward. Beau grabbed my arm.
I shook him off but held my ground. Eric might actually try to turn himself over if I made myself a target.
“You don’t like that suggestion, do you?” Carlotti said, looking at me. “Is the sheriff your little pet? You think you can make him do your bidding?”
“I don’t have time for games, Carlotti,” Remington said.
“Then hand over my payment.”
“Unfortunately, you’re no longer in a position to make demands like that.”
The men beside him pulled their guns and aimed them at Remington.
“What the hell do you mean?” Carlotti asked, amusement in his tone.
“I mean all the men you rely on to fund your business no longer wish to have you as a client. They are cutting off your credit and calling in your debts. In fact, you should already be getting notifications letting you know you need to pay up.” Carlotti’s phone began to buzz loudly, and I’d never been more impressed with Remington.
“What the fuck?” one of the men beside him asked. “You said you didn’t owe any debts.”
“Are they saying you really don’t have the money to pay us?” one of the goons behind him asked.
“You see,” Remington continued as Carlotti’s face turned such a bright red I thought he might have a heart attack and save us the trouble of killing him, “without funding, I’m afraid you don’t have any hold over your empire. That’s the problem with hired guns. When the money runs out, they leave. It’s what happens when you can’t command true loyalty.”
Some of his men were already heading toward their vehicles.
“He’s lying,” Carlotti yelled.
“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” Remington said. “You really can’t be sure of your men’s loyalty now, can you? They might rather shoot you than me.”
Carlotti glanced behind him. “Get the fuck back over here,” he shouted to the men who’d retreated. They didn’t turn around.
“I think you should check your phone,” Remington said.
Snarling, Carlotti reached into his pocket. “No!” he shouted when he looked at the screen. “No. No. No.”
“Considering these events, you should rethink your position for negotiating.”
“I will bring you down along with everyone you’ve ever worked for.”
“It’s true?” the man beside Carlotti asked. “You don’t have any money?”
Carlotti turned on the man and shot him through the chest. He fell to his knees then collapsed in the dirt. Chaos reigned after that.
Carlotti turned on his disloyal soldiers and started firing at them. The few who remained loyal fired on us. While we took each of them out, someone must have helped Carlotti out of the line of fire, and I lost track of him in the melee.
When the gunfire stopped and all Carlotti’s men were dead at the hands of my family and our friends, the first thing I noticed was that Eric was there by my side, weapon in hand. “You shouldn’t be here.”
He laid a hand on my back. “I’m fine. You needed all the help you could get.”
“I need you safe. How did I not know you were here?”
“You were focused. You had to be to stay alive.”
The next thing I noticed was that Corbin was seated on the ground, Beau hovering over him, looking pale as a ghost.
“Oh shit. What happened?” We made our way to them. Corbin had taken a hit.
“It went clean through,” Lance declared. “He’s going to be fine. The doctor will meet us at Eric’s house. I’m assuming that’s all right.”
Eric nodded. “You can stay there as long as you need to.”
“Are you sure he’s going to be okay?” Beau looked terrified.
