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“Yes. I’m good. I thought that guy was going to kill you!” Her voice went a pitch higher in her excitement.
Jackson sat back against the pool table, his shoulder brushing up against Bellamy. “When we get out of here and things calm down, I want you to teach Calliope how to shoot a gun and defend herself,” he told her.
“Yeah. I could do that.” She was still a little winded from the exertion of trying to get Andrew off of her.
He grinned and shook his head before leaning around the table again.
Bellamy really wanted to see if Race and her brother were okay, so she crawled around Liza and looked around the other end of the pool table. From where she was at she could see Race and Trick were still pinned down behind the half wall and Preacher was still behind a couch. The way the stuffing was flying into the air, he needed to find better cover. She looked around the room to see where the shots were coming from.
She watched as the men behind the bar took turns firing their weapons, making it impossible for anyone to approach. Lawrence would pop up, take a couple of shots, then drop down and the other guy would take his turn. They were so focused on what was going on in front of them, they didn’t pay her any attention. She got to her knees, braced her arms on the table and took aim. She waited for Lawrence’s head to surface, then squeezed the trigger.Bang!She nailed him. He dropped behind the bar, his eyes fixed and vacant. The smell of gun powder lingered thickly in the air.
“Damn, woman. Nice shot.” Jackson smiled wide.
She dropped down when another man came down the stairs and took aim in her direction. A few bullets hit the wall she was facing, little clouds of white sheetrock dust exploding on contact. Jackson took the opportunity to lean around his end of the table and pick him off, his body tumbling the rest of the way down the stairs.
The man behind the bar popped up again and Race took him out. That left Jacob all alone behind the bar. The coward had yet to make a move to save himself.
“Jacob! You might as well give up! The men you had with you are dead!” Race yelled over the shooting.
Bellamy peeked around the table again and saw Race holding his hand up, signaling for his men to stop shooting. The silence was almost deafening.
“What’s it gonna be? You coming out or are we coming to get you?” Race yelled.
“What difference does it make? I’m dead either way!” Jacob replied.
“You’re right. You’re dead either way. If you come out, I’ll make it quick. If you make me come get you, I’ll make your suffering last a lot longer.”
Across the room she could see Preacher stealthily making his way closer to the bar, his gun raised and ready for anything. The sound of someone coming down the stairs, drew his attention. In that one moment of time, Jacob decided to grow a pair and came up from behind the bar, his gun up and ready to fire.
“Noooo! Isaac, down!” Bellamy yelled at her brother. He instantly dropped, not bothering to turn to see what Bellamy was warning him about.
Bellamy jumped to her feet and let off a couple of shots. The first shot was to Jacob’s right shoulder, causing him to lose his grip on his gun. The second shot to his left shoulder because she wanted him to suffer. She came out from behind the table, gun raised and purposely moved to where Jacob leaned with his back against the wall, barely able to hold himself up.
She wanted to look the man in the eye as she took her final shot, but was thwarted by Race wrapping his arms around her from behind. “No. I’ve got this. He’s mine,” he whispered roughly in her ear. “Take Liza and go upstairs with Jackson.”
She didn’t immediately respond. He spun her in his arms so that she was facing him. “Please take Liza out of here. I don’t want her to see me take a man’s life.”
She chewed her bottom lip, wanting to kill the bastard herself, but understanding Race needed his pound of flesh, too. She nodded her head. She could give him this. “Okay.” He kissed her forehead and turned her loose so she could gather Liza. Jackson led the way up the stairs, his gun drawn, prepared for anything.
At the top of the stairs, she wrapped her arm around Liza’s shoulders and held her close to her side. The rest of Race’s club was scattered throughout the entryway, guns held loosely in their hands. Bloodstains covered the floor where bodies must have landed. Due to a lack of bodies, she could only surmise that the guys had dragged the bodies away so Liza wouldn’t see them. She appreciated that they tried to spare the young girl more horrors than she’d already been forced to suffer.
Levi stepped forward. “Preacher?”
“He’s fine. He’s still down there with Race.”
Levi nodded. “You and the girl okay?”
“Yes. Thanks. We’re going to wait outside.”
Levi took off down the stairs in search of his boss. Chris stepped forward, removed his heavy jacket and slipped it over Liza’s shoulders. She’d removed hers earlier and taking time to look for it wasn’t high on their priority list right now. The poor thing was in shock, her body shivering and her teeth chattering. Bellamy thanked him for his kind gesture.
Darren walked over, slipped off his heavy cut and handed it to Bellamy. “Thank you, Darren.” She slipped it on and immediately thanked the Lord above. It was so warm and smelled like pine and sandalwood. It was a welcome smell after being around so much blood.
Jackson escorted them to the van, helped them inside and got in the driver’s seat. He started the engine and cranked up the heat to help warm them up.
“Are you okay, Liza? You can tell me the truth.” Bellamy squeezed her gently.
“I’m okay.” The girl remained silent, not elaborating after that. Her eyes kept roaming Bellamy’s face.
