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Cassie didn’t move.
“Now
.”
The command forced Cassie’s feet to move forward. One second, she was standing near the door to the outside world, and the next, her hands were closing over the cold metal of the cuffs hanging off David’s belt. She looked up at him, but he never took his eyes off McLaughlin.
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“I’ll walk you through it.”
“I don’t know if I can—”
“I don’t trust him, so you get to decide between cuffing him yourself or watching me hold him at gunpoint until backup gets here. We don’t really have another choice. I’m not taking my gun off him.”
Cassie swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down at the cuffs. She’d been around enough officers in her time that she knew the basics. She pinched the metal arm of one cuff until it ratcheted open and then did the same with the other side.
“Start with his right. Pinch it tight. Then move on to the left.”
Cassie shuffled forward. She only hesitated for a moment before she knelt down beside him. Her hands were slick with sweat and shaking. The smell of cigarette smoke made her gag and cough. But as she turned her head to the side, McLaughlin exploded with power.
It happened too fast for Cassie to process. One minute, he was on his stomach, and the next, he’d rolled onto his side and swung his leg up. He planted his foot on Cassie’s hip and shoved with all his strength. It didn’t hurt, but it sent her sprawling into David. She heard the gun skitter across the floor as the two of them collided.
When she next looked up, McLaughlin was standing over them with his own gun pointed at their heads. He used it to point to the pew behind them. “Sit there, please.”
David helped Cassie to her feet. She caught sight of his gun, but it had slid across the polished wooden floor and landed at the base of the pulpit. She hesitated for only a moment before sliding into the pew McLaughlin had pointed to. David slid in after her, placing his body between her and the man aiming a pistol at her head.
McLaughlin took two steps back, sat down on the opposite side of the aisle, and then took the gun off them, laying it across his lap and pointing the muzzle toward the front of the church. Cassie, however, noticed he hadn’t lifted his finger from the trigger.
“I’m sorry I lied.” He looked like he meant it. “About having the gun in my bag, I mean. I don’t want to hurt you.”
David’s voice came out like a growl. “Your actions say differently.”
McLaughlin sighed and then nodded his head. “You’re right.”
After a moment’s hesitation, McLaughlin took a deep breath and stood up. Cassie felt her entire body tense, and David shifted more of his body to block hers. Her head grew light as the other man walked over to David’s 9mm and picked it up.
When he turned back around, there was only a moment’s hesitation before he moved again.
Then he walked straight up to David and handed him back his weapon.
37
“Good manners won’t keep you out of jail, McLaughlin,” David said.
“Noah.” McLaughlin looked tired. “And I know that. But I’m not here to hurt anyone. Was just saying some final goodbyes.”
“You hurt Shapiro.”
McLaughlin’s smile held a tightness that betrayed his anger. “Shapiro deserved it. I think even you can see that.”
“What you did was still against the law.”
“I know.”
“You don’t seem worried about the consequences.”
“I’m not.”
