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“You don’t have to die,” I tell him. “You can put the gun down on the counter and then walk out with your hands up. Surrender.”
“They’ll fucking shoot me.” His expression is blank as he continues to rock. “I’m a dead man.”
“Hey!” I snap. His eyes meet mine and all I see is a lost soul who has nowhere to turn. Which can be dangerous if I’m not careful. “If you die, you’ll never be able to ask your daughter for forgiveness.”
“She’ll never forgive me. She shouldn’t.” His bottom lip trembles, and he presses the handle of the gun against his forehead. “I was supposed to protect her, instead I hurt her.”
“She could forgive you. It might take many, many years. But if you do something stupid and end up leaving here in a body bag, you’ll never know.”
Melody lets out a small whimper and Troy looks at her. He stands and pushes open the office door.
“Get out,” he tells her.
Melody looks at me, eyes wide in fear. “Just me?”
“Out!” he screams. “Before I change my mind.”
I nod at Melody and watch as she runs out of the office. Troy shuts the door behind her and makes his way back over to the desk I’m sitting at.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I know who your father and your boyfriend are.” He once again grabs me by the arm and leads us to the doorway. “If I go out there using you as a shield, they won’t shoot at me.” With his hand still around my arm, he tightens his grip and places the gun to my head. Pulling me flush against him, he whispers in my ear. “We walk nice and slow.”
Nodding, I lead us away from the office. The hallways are quiet, too quiet. The only sounds I hear are Troy’s heavy breath in my ear and the pounding of my heart. My calmness is wearing off, and I feel the strangling grip of fear around my neck.
Rounding the last row of lockers, I can see the front entrance. Off in the distance are more squad cars than I can count. I fight the urge to punch this asshole in the groin and take off running. Who knows what he’s capable of if he becomes too desperate.
“Almost there,” Troy whispers.
“Hands in the air,” Jackson’s voice shouts from behind us.
Troy stills, and I feel my breath hitch in my throat.
Please don’t be stupid. Please don’t be stupid.
“I said, get your fucking hands in the air.”
Troy flips us around and uses me as a shield to protect himself from Jackson. Our eyes meet, and all I want to do is run to him. But Troy has me by a death grip and the gun is still pointed at my head.
“I’m sorry,” I cry out. And I’m not sure if I’m apologizing for being taken hostage or for the past two days, since I may not get the chance.
“Shut up!” Troy screams.
“You don’t want to do this,” Jackson warns him. “Right now, it’s just me. But twenty men are about to break down those doors. Do you really think you’re going to make it out of here if you don’t drop your weapon and stand down?”
“If I let her go, you’ll shoot me.”
“You have no idea how badly I want to kill you right now.”
Jackson’s eyes never leave mine. I’m trembling as the adrenaline quickly wears off. A steady stream of silent tears falls freely down my cheeks.
“Put the fucking gun down, Baucom.”
I feel the gun shift and watch as Jackson’s eyes follow the movement. Oh, no, this isn’t happening. This can’t be happening. Troy rotates the gun and points it at Jackson. Time slows down as the two stare each other down. The moment a loud bang rings out, I close my eyes as both my heart and time come to a dead stop.
“Drop your weapon!” a string of voices behind me yells out.
I open my eyes to find Troy lowering the gun before tossing it to the floor. His death grip on me releases as he takes a few steps away from me. Looking back at Jackson, I find him still standing in the same spot, staring at me. It wasn’t a gunshot. He’s ok, I’m ok.
