Page 16 of Coercion


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Ben nudges Mia toward the side, toward our dad.She doesn’t want to go.Her feet resist the movement.Ben nudges her again.One of the big man’s people snaps at her, and she backs up, but that only puts her closer to the leader.She squeezes her eyes shut again.

The enormous, too-tall asshole looks at her like he’s seeing her for the first time.

All the blood rushes out of my head.

He knows he’s outnumbered, and that makes him more likely to do something drastic.

Like shoot a child to create a diversion.That would draw everyone’s attention, and he could escape.

His head swivels toward Ben.He tenses up, his eyes going wide and round.

He barely looks at the man who’s deciding whether to shoot him.

He looks at Mia.

She’s obviously not okay, and less okay by the second.Her shoulders have rounded forward like she’s hoping to hide in her body.If I could get to her without starting a firefight, I’d have her in my arms already.

Ben’s worry for her draws the ringleader’s attention.

The movement starts in the man’s upper arm.God, why is he so huge?Why isn’t he a normal-sized person who could be tackled, or rushed, oranything?Maybe I could tackle him.That happens to people.They get superhuman strength just when they need it.

But what if one of Evan’s people mistakes me for an enemy?What if they all shoot?

The man’s hand flexes, and then his arm goes behind his back, and oh, God, oh, no, he’s going to shoot her.

I put both hands over my mouth.I don’t know what I’m trying to stop.A scream, I think.If I scream for her and she hears me and opens her eyes and panics—

The gun is already out and I cansee, even from this far away, I can see the tendons in his arm going tight because he’s pulling the trigger, he’s putting more pressure on it and I know from the movies it doesn’t take a lot.

Everybody’s shouting.Somebody else is screaming.Maybe it’s me.Or Evan or Will or Ben.There’s so much sound that for a second I don’t understand what’s happening.I don’t understand the blur on Mia’s other side.

I don’t understand until that blur becomes my father, leaping in front of her.

He’s behind her, actually.He’s behind her back.He’s between her and a bullet.

It hits him.

He crashes to the ground, the shoulder of his borrowed, faded sweatshirt dark with blood.

It’s pandemonium.

All of Evan’s men surge forward.I go with them.There might be bullets.There might not.I can’t wait anymore.Mostly, people seem to be running.The ringleader disappears into a dark room in the back.Evan’s guys split off after the other guys.

All I care about is Mia.

A flat-out sprint gets me to her, and I fold my arms around her shoulders and hold her tight.“It’s okay.Mia, it’s okay.”Only…it might not be okay.I push her away a few inches and look at her face.Run my hands over her wrists.Her arms.She hasn’t opened her eyes.“Mia.It’s me.Are you hurt?Is anything—does anything hurt?”

She opens her eyes, just a little.“It’s too loud.”

Her voice shakes, but she doesn’t cry.

“I know.It’s really loud.”I put my hands over hers.“Keep covering them until we can leave.”

Someone brushes close to me.It’s Will, with Ben in his arms.He sets Ben on his feet next to Mia.He throws his arms around her and she buries her face in his shoulder.

“Ben’s okay.”Will’s eyes go past me to the floor.He puts an arm around Mia and Ben and turns them so they’re not facing my direction.

Oh my God.

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