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And then it all went to shit. Fast.
The gun appeared in an instant. Ground into the side of Emma’s head. “Yes, today. Right now, in fact.”
14
It happened so fast, Emma couldn’t react. One minute she was dealing with a really annoying police officer that Raul didn’t trust, for some reason. He’d made it clear with his body language. And it turned out he was quite right not to trust Inspector Ferguson.
The barrel of his gun ground into her temple. Something warm trickled down her face. The barrel was breaking the skin, making her bleed.
He dragged her up and away from the sofa.
The officer’s arm was around her neck, choking her, pulling her. Emma reached up to pull his arm away but it was like pulling at steel.
“Uh uh,” he said. She was held so close to his chest she could feel the vibrations of his voice. He was talking to Raul, who had his own gun pointed straight at the cop-not-cop. “Put that down, whoever you are. I wasn’t told there’d be anyone else here, so it’s going to cost them extra. Put the gun down.”
Raul stood straight, unmoving, gun in a two-handed clasp.
“I saidput it down,” the man roared, “Or I’ll pop her in the head. Don’t think I won’t. So drop it.”
Emma wheezed, trying to find her voice. Raul couldn’t drop his gun! It was clear to her what would happen next. This creep would shoot Raul the instant he was unarmed, then drag her wherever it was he wanted her to go. He had to keep his gun!
Raul dropped the gun, and it clattered onto her tile floor. It didn’t even have the good taste to go off and hit the guy in the leg. Though it would hit her in the leg first. Raul stood there, facing them, hands open and low, palms out. Totally vulnerable.
If he had another weapon she didn’t see where it could be.
It hit her like a blow. She understood what Raul was doing. Raul was preparing to sacrifice himself for her. He understood, too, that the fake cop was going to shoot him and make off with her. He was willing to put his life on the line to buy her some time. Because the guy holding her was clearly serious. He wasn’t trembling, he wasn’t sweating, his voice was firm. He wanted to kidnap her, like Toby was kidnapped. And he wouldn’t mind getting Raul out of the way while he did it.
No. No. A thousand times no.
She knew suddenly, without a second’s doubt, that if she didn’t have a gun to her head, Raul would have fought to his last breath. Would never have given up his weapon. Would never have stood like that, straight, hands open and weaponless, waiting for the fatal bullet.
He was not willing to risk her life, at the cost of his own.
No. No.A thousand times no!
Something switched on inside her. Up until now she’d held her heart a little out of whatever it was that was happening with Raul. He was … almost too much. Too handsome, too charming. He was even good friends with her best friends. Something too good to be true. In her experience, things that were too good to be true were just that. Not true.
She’d had bad luck with men, so often that being on her own felt like her natural state of being. Better to hold her heart safe because it would be broken, sooner or later.
But … fuck that, as Felicity would say.
Right before her was a man of substance, a brave wonderful man, who was preparing to lay down his life for her. He could take down this fake cop, of course he could. He’d taken down two professional bodyguards with ridiculous ease. But the fake cop had a gun to her head, so he deliberately gave up his weapon. Making himself a target. All for her.
This was a man to cherish and no fake cop was going to take him away from her.
What to do? Well, Raul was brave but she was tricky.
The cop was dragging her backwards toward the door, one arm around her shoulders, one hand holding the gun to her temple. They were moving slowly, but moving. In a moment they would be in the hallway. She could work with the hallway.
They were in the hallway.
Emma suddenly slumped, making herself a deadweight. She could feel the surprise as the guy tightened his hold on her. She loosened her ankles, not holding herself upright. He was bearing her entire weight.
“Hey!” he shouted angrily.
Emma let out a long high keening cry. An animal cry of pain, loud and wrenching. “Oh God, I’m going to die! I don’t want to die! Please God I don’t want to die!” She was trembling from head to toe, shaking in terror. Her voice was waterlogged with tears as she babbled and wept. “Don’t do this, let me go! I don’t want to die!”
She shook and panted and wailed and trembled.
