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“Let them go. This is the goddamn quarterback for the Cyclones and the daughter of the Emerald City mayor. Imagine the hell that’ll rain down on your fucking heads if you touch either one of them.”
“Huh. Nice of you to think of our well being but we’ll take our chances.” The leader leaves the upstairs group and casually walks toward a spiral staircase. He drags something behind him, letting it intentionally scrape along the ground. “Cute girl you’ve got there. We’ll enjoy having some fun with her. We’ll even let you watch.”
Tess grips my shirt in fear. Conner inhales sharply and jostles my shoulder. Between the two of us, we can take five men.
We can.
Wehaveto.
The leader pauses at the top of the stairs and raises a long machete in the air above his head. “Does this look familiar, Lyonne?”
Yes. Yes, it does.
The first time I saw a tool like that was when it was used to hack up my father.
Chapter30
Tess
I’ve been frightened before.
Who hasn’t?
This is different, a visceral taste of terror from the threat of physical danger.
I’m afraid for me. For Micah. For Conner.
And for the tiny life inside my belly that only I know about.
I had planned to tell him tonight. At home, after the fight.
Micah and Conner stand shoulder to shoulder, shielding me as best they can.
Separately, they are dauntingly powerful.
Together, they are practically impenetrable.
“I’m with you,” Conner mutters to his cousin. He passes his phone back to me. The call to Gage is still connected.
“Before they get down here,” Micah hisses back.
I understand. He plans to make a move before the three men on the second floor run down the stairs.
“Tess.” He reaches back and grips my hand. “Stay against the wall. Run if you see the chance.”
I’m too terrified to do anything but squeeze his hand. My mouth is dry and I can’t breathe.
“Break,” growls Micah. He pivots and seizes the man blocking the door we came through.
As ordered, I flatten my back against the wall.
Conner charges across the room and barrels right into the man guarding the opposite door.
Micah has a head start and disposes of his opponent first, picking the guy up and slamming him into the floor like a ragdoll.
The man with the machete curses and starts down the stairs, followed by his buddies. They are hampered by the fact that the staircase is metal and rickety. It wobbles under their weight, sending them scampering back to the top. The sight would be comical if I wasn’t scared out of my wits.
“Come on, baby.” Micah grabs my hand, pulling me toward the opposite door in the hopes we can escape before the three maniacs on the second floor get their bearings.
