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“They won’t be. Just get them to sign the company over. I’ll kill them all, get rid of the bodies, and you’ll have Wolfhound Security all to yourself, just like you wanted,” Toby says. “There’s no other way.”
Charlene shakes her head slowly, the horror setting in as she absent-mindedly touches her face. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You mean you can’t believe your plan to commit more crimes is going wrong?” Kellan says. “You thought you were getting payback. Instead, you have been digging yourself into a hole even deeper than what put you in prison in the first place.”
“You should’ve stayed out of Lincoln County,” Fallon adds.
“Toby, you shouldn’t have done this. You shouldn’t have done any of this,” Charlene says, almost breathless as she tries to approach him, but Toby is spiraling into a panic and decides to point his gun at anyone stepping toward him, including his boss.
“Stay back,” he says. “I need to think.”
“What’s there to think about?” Luke goads him into a deeper frenzy.
Meanwhile, I’ve just snapped one of my cable ties open, and the second one soon follows. My ankles hurt, and I can feel the blood dripping downward, warm and wet, but at least I’m almost free. To my right, mere feet away, is a toolbox I left behind. In it, I know are several screwdrivers—each long and sharp enough to cause damage to a man’s flesh if I can get my hands on them in time.
Things are about to devolve into pure chaos. That much I’ve learned from my past experience and from the way my men haveapproached the situation so far. I know I need to be quick and determined, decisive with each action I take. My survival might depend on it. I intend to go home to my babies tonight.
“You killed two men,” Charlene mumbles.
“Charlene, I’ve loved you from the moment we first met. You will crush anybody who stands in your way, but you’re limited by a moral code that you simply don’t need,” Toby tries to reason with her. “All I did was get these fuckers off your back long enough for you to work your magic on Avery. We wouldn’t have gotten so close to our goal if I hadn’t done what I did.”
“Toby this isn’t love,” she says. “I think you were very misguided.”
“Really, little Miss Perfect? Doing time for embezzlement is where you draw the line? Murder is a buzzkill for you?” Toby snaps, somewhat offended. “I’ve been at your side through everything over the past few months. I’ve seen you suffer; I’ve seen your heart bleed over what these fuckers did to you. If anything, I’m just sorry I didn’t kill all three of them when I had the chance!”
“Oh, Toby,” Charlene shakes her head in dismay. “I do believe you misunderstood. Although my crimes in the past were horrible, I would never bring such atrocities so close to home. I didn’t know the people that were killed as a result of my assistance in funding those extremist groups. Killing people I actually know is not something I would entertain.”
My second tie pops loose. I give Luke a quick nod. It’s the sign he’s been waiting for.
Fallon picks up on it and grabs the manila folder from Luke’s hand, tossing it at Toby. The gun goes off with a loudBANGandCharlene screams, but the bullet goes astray, lodging into the wall. It’s enough to have Toby distracted for a split-second, and Fallon takes advantage, charging at him full speed.
Charlene tries to run out of the room, but Luke tackles her. She hits the floor with a hard thud, whimpering while Kellan takes out a pocketknife and cuts my wrists free.
“Are you okay?” he asks me.
Fury is surging through me, red-hot and unstoppable. A sudden clarity makes my vision sharper and my muscles tense. “I will be in a moment,” I hiss and rush over to my toolbox.
Fallon and Toby are fighting. The gun is on the floor, but none of us can reach it, and they’re moving too fast and chaotically to anticipate what will happen next. I only have a few more seconds to change the outcome of this terrible moment, so I grab one of my screwdrivers and lunge at Toby.
“Avery, no!” I hear Luke shouting, but it’s too late.
The screwdriver goes deep into Toby’s thigh. He cries out in agony, throwing his head back in a reflexive reaction. It’s all Fallon needs to throw a left hook with all his might and strength. Toby falls flat on his face, blood pooling under his leg. Fallon wipes some of his own blood from the corner of his mouth, his left eye gradually reddening and swelling.
As if automated by pure instinct, I tear off a strip of my shirt and tie it just above Toby’s stab wound, the screwdriver wobbling as I tighten the knot. He moans while I make sure he doesn’t bleed to death.
Kellan reaches me in a split-second and scoops me into his arms. “You’re gonna be okay,” he whispers. “You were incredible,Avery.”
“Yeah,nowI’m gonna be okay,” I reply with a slight grin.
“This can’t be happening!” Charlene moans, face pressed against the hardwood flooring as Luke slaps on the cuffs Kellan had thrown him.
Police sirens howl in the distance, getting louder with each passing moment.
I’m shaking as the adrenalin begins to wear off.
Fallon has Toby thrown over his shoulder as he joins Kellan and Charlene outside, but Luke stays behind with me, his arms wrapped tightly around my torso, his heart thudding against mine as he plants sweet kisses on my forehead.
Once Kellan’s deputies arrive, the madness begins to subside, and my heart returns to a more regular beat. Two ambulances have arrived on site. One to take Toby away with a police escort, and one for me. The paramedics check my vitals to make sure that both me and the baby are alright. Aside from a higher than usual blood pressure attributed to the stress of the situation, they decree that I’m fine and don’t need to spend the night in the hospital.
