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“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Charles said. “Take her, I don’t give a shit. Those two will spread the word that she’s damaged goods and no one’s going to want her. As far as I’m concerned, she’s a burden. But we’re out of here. Understand? And if you take so much as a single step toward me, she’s dead.”
I glanced over at Roberto, his gun still aiming at the two men.
“Now, lower those pistols.”
I saw movement at Charles’s feet. Emily was coming back to the moment, her hand wriggling free.
Everything that happened next, happened in a blur. Emily yanked her hand out, grabbing onto Charles’s ankle and pulling hard. He pointed his gun at me in a panic, the bullet going wide. I fired twice, both rounds hitting him in the chest. Roberto opened fire, dropping the guard with a triplet of rounds.
When the dust settled, Charles and his guard were down. I moved over to Emily’s father, kicking the gun away from his hand and bending down to free Emily.
She was unconscious again. I turned toward Roberto, worry in my heart.
“Call an ambulance. Now.”
Chapter 33
Logan
Ipaced back and forth in the hospital waiting room like a caged animal. Emily had been brought to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible, but the doctors hadn’t told us anything.
“You get in touch with them?” I asked.
Roberto approached, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Yeah. Pearl and Marianne are on their way, Renaldo and Edgar with them. Doesn’t sound like there was any other funny business at the gallery.”
“How the hell did it happen?”
“The guard I dropped snuck his way into the gallery through the back entrance, took her out the same way. You ask me, sounds like they’d been watching us for a while.”
“Pieces of shit.” The words came out dripping with venom.
“The good news, if we can call it that, is I managed to speak to the guard I took down.”
“He’s alive?”
Roberto smiled slightly. “Aimed for the knees, figured we’d want to get some info out of him. He said that this was the operation—a desperate, last-ditch effort to kidnap Emily and sellher off before she went with you forever. We acted just in time. And don’t worry, cops have the guard in custody.”
“Charles is dead,” I said. “Checked that myself.”
“Good goddamn riddance. World’s a better place without him in it.”
I sighed, shaking my head and running my hand through my hair.
“You’re right. And after everything he’s done to Emily, a quick death was a gift. All the same…”
Roberto nodded. “Yeah. All the same, you killed her dad. That’s going to take time to process.”
Commotion sounded out behind me, and I turned to see the guards enter with Pearl and Marianne. The four of them rushed over to me, Marianne opening her arms and pulling me into a tight hug that I eagerly returned.
“Is she OK?” Marianne asked. “Please say that she’s OK.”
“Don’t know yet,” I replied. “We’re still waiting on—”
“Mr. Stone?”
I turned and was greeted with the sight of a trim, middle-aged woman in scrubs and a white lab coat.
“How is she?” I asked. The rest of the group formed up around me, all of them waiting for an answer.
