Kirin locked on to the woman holding Will. If the daggers from her eyes could have killed the woman she’d be dead. She’d saved that bitch. Saved her from breathing her last breath inside that hangar. And she now held Kirin’s child by the elbow.
The woman stared back at Kirin’s glare, completely blank.
Kirin quick-judged the distance. She could be up, across the room, punch the woman in the face and grab Will before anyone caught her. They’d probably shoot her, but she didn’t care. She scooted to the front of the chair and shifted her weight to the balls of her feet. Joel pushed down harder on her shoulder.
Three...two...
“Calamia.” The man in the white fur coat stepped forward. His thick accent, she couldn’t place, but his voice rumbled low and deep. Nicky and Todd turned.
“I don’t give a shit about your family drama. I want my money. Now.”
Nicky deflated and stared at the man as if to say, ‘Now?’
The man leveled a look at Todd as the two thugs walked around the man in the fur coat and one pulled out an AR and cradled it like a baby.
Nicky’s head snapped toward Todd.
Todd was as white as the man’s coat. He didn’t have the money. She did.
Well, Joel did, now. This was her bargaining chip. She could use the money to save Will.
Todd inhaled sharply, threw his shoulders back and cleared his throat. “The money will be wire transferred when the banks open—”
“That was not our agreement,” The man in the white coat crossed his arms.
Todd stuttered, “It was a bank mistake. The money was supposed to be ready and...”
The gunshot rang out then silenced the room. The hole in the wall next to Todd’s head had a small ring of smoke that hung for a beat, then disappeared. Todd’s eyes opened wide.
Fur coat man grinned, then nodded to the house-of-a-man to his right, who was still holding his pistol. Without a word the man sidestepped around him and casually walked toward Todd and Nicky.
When he reached them, he looked each one in the face and spoke low and eloquent. “Leo isn’t fond of families that make promises and don’t keep them. Our agreement was two hundred thousand cash. You have one minute to produce it, or one of you dies.”
Nicky’s face turned red and fighting mad.
The large man turned to walk back, when another close-range shot rang out.
This one was followed by a sickening thud of a body falling to the floor.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nicky stepped over Todd’s crumpled body.
It heaped unnaturally on the floor like a bag of trash. He pointed the gun still in his hand at Gianna and motioned for her to join him in the middle of the room. Sam’s body twitched.
Gianna’s face held nothing but sheer hatred as she strutted across the floor toward her father.
Nicky turned back. Leo’s AR toting muscle man had instantly aimed the rifle toward his forehead. Nicky waved him off like a gnat.
“No need.” Then to Leo, “As you can see our family dynamics have changed. I apologize for my nephew’s inadequate behavior. You’ll have the money before you head back to Detroit. My daughter, Gianna, is an attorney and the new head of our family. She has political connections, street smarts and let’s just say a very feminine way of getting what we want.”
When Leo’s gaze raked Gianna up and down and then he licked his lips, Nicky added, “And she’s easy on the eyes, too.”
Gianna’s fists balled. Her stare turned cold.
Leo grinned, “I’m sure we can work something out.”
Nicky turned toward Kirin, but spoke to Leo, “Give me two minutes.”
He sauntered over to her, smiling like it was Christmas morning. Joel’s body tensed.
Kirin had seen enough. And her boy had seen enough. Nicky was not going to murder her in front of Will. When he was only a few feet away, he stopped and stared. Joel’s grip tightened on her shoulder.
Nicky drew his pistol and aimed it at her head, then spoke low, “You will die today. And don’t worry about your boy...Gianna will raise him to be one of us. I own him. He’ll be the slave I never had. And I’ll make sure he’s loyal to us.”
Kirin ignored the gun in her face and turned toward Leo, who watched her intently.
“He’s lying. The money’s gone. I found it in the air ducts.”
Leo’s gaze casually switched from Kirin to Nicky and back. He stepped forward and motioned for Nicky to lower his gun. Nicky’s face turned purple with rage. His body pitched forward like he was a step away from walking over and strangling her.
“Go on,” Leo said to Kirin.
“I have proof. Your guys played Eminem—Soldier to be exact. Then somebody shot a hole through the ceiling into the air duct.” Her voice shook, but she had their attention.
Leo turned. The man with the pistol nodded. When Leo turned back toward her, both thugs pointed their guns at her head.
Shit.
She’d now made herself enemy number one with both sides. She mustered every ounce of strength and kept talking.
“The money is hidden. Let the people I care about go free, and I’ll give it to you.
Leo nodded, then pointed to the dark-haired woman holding Will and crooked a finger at her. She released Will and he darted to his mom, knocking into Nicky in the process—not so accidentally.
When he reached her, Will threw his arms around her neck. She kissed his cheek wishing her arms were free. She needed to hold her boy one more time. Kirin sobbed silently into his hair.
Leo cleared his throat and Will rose and glared at them. He wiped his mom’s tears, then stood protectively next to her.
Leo spoke, “Money. Now.”
When Kirin caught her breath, her voice shook, “What assurances do I have that they will go free?”
Leo smiled, “None.”
Kirin glared back, “Then why would I? You’ll never find the package in all the holes and nooks of this old house.”
Nicky took two quick steps toward Kirin. He drew his pistol and placed the barrel on her forehead.
Will grabbed the arm with the gun to pull it away. Kirin screamed. For a split second, she envisioned Will being accidentally shot. Nicky struggled with her ten-year-old, who tenaciously held on to Nicky’s arm like a bulldog attached to a steak.
When Nicky grabbed the gun with his other hand, he shook his arm and flung Will to the ground like a ragdoll. The thud of Will’s head hitting the ground made her swear at the evil man. Like an angry animal she flailed around, pulling and ripping the skin on her wrists, writhing against the rope.
Sam dropped the charade and ran to Will’s side. He placed a hand on her boy, then nodded to her as if to say, he’s okay.
Kirin watched in slow motion horror as Nicky placed the gun in his right hand and alternated aiming from one target to the next and back. First Sam’s head, then Will’s. Over and over. Sam gave Kirin one last long look, mouthed, “I love you,” and with tears in his eyes, laid his body across Will’s to protect him.
At her strongest, she couldn’t rip her hands free.
She was defenseless and either her child or her fiancé would die. She heard herself scream like she was not herself but an innocent bystander watching a movie.
This was all her fault. She’d gotten them into this. And she would never forgive herself.
Then...all at once, the room was silent.
It wasn’t a surprise that a gun now rested at the back of Nicky’s head.
What was surprising was the person on the other end of that gun.
~*~
Gianna’s head spun in circles. She couldn’t take it any longer. She didn’t give two shits about Kirin, but her fucking old man would not be killing a kid today. He’d done enough damage to her—her whole life. The short troll grunted and put his hands in the air. Gun still attached. She grabbed it and flung it to the floor.
Thirty-nine years of pent up hostility toward this monster made her b
ody quake. He’d been solely responsible for turning her into a whore. Nobody knew what he’d done to her real mother. She only had pictures of that woman. He’d treated his only child like a slave and sold her to the highest bidder—his brother Saul. If she really thought about it, she was glad Kirin killed that slime ball. He deserved it just as much as her father did.
Sam, who at first looked as if he was hatching a plan of his own, had not taken eyes off Kirin or Kirin’s kid the entire time.
She watched him. His wavy hair and rugged good looks would make any woman want him.
Then it hit her.
It wasn’t so much that she wanted him, as she wanted someone to connect with, and to share a normal life with. Someone who didn’t judge her. She didn’t need a man by her side to make her complete. But she wanted one. One that wouldn’t decide she was a piece of crap, just because she was raised wrong. She wanted a good man like Sam.
Watching Kirin and Sam exchange gut-wrenching goodbye glances, she knew. Knew, no matter what she wanted for herself, she wanted him to be happy. Even if that meant he wouldn’t be hers.
Nicky grunted, “Whoever you are, you just signed your own death warrant.”
Shoulders back and exuding confidence, she spat, “You do not run this organization, you little hobbit, I do.”
Nicky spun slow, arms raised and mouth open. A strange mixture of one-part respect and one-part rage, crossed his face.
“Don’t do this. I’ve given you everything I had. You know I love you.”
“Love me? You sold me to the highest bidder. Your own daughter. My mother ran out on me because of you.” Gianna’s voice shook.
Nicky’s face turned beet red. “You’re nothing but a slut and a whore with a law degree. A degree I paid for. I own you.”
Gianna shook harder, then cocked the pistol back. In a sound no louder than a whisper, she said, “I’m so much more than that, dear father. I’m the Attorney who’s gonna shut your organization down. Even if it takes my entire law firm and half the government to do it.”
Nicky’s eyes narrowed. He took two quick breaths and dove for the gun on the floor. When he did, he deliberately knocked her legs out from under her. Stunned, she scrambled up. Nicky’s hot breath and murderous eyes were inches from Kirin’s face, pointing the gun at Will and Sam lying on the floor.
Kirin screamed in his face.
Gianna did what any self-respecting, law-abiding citizen would do. She placed her body protectively in front of Will and Sam, raised her gun, closed her eyes, and squeezed the trigger.
The close range, deafening pop made Gianna’s head pound. The top half of Nicola’s body slumped onto Kirin’s lap. As much as her father hated that woman, it was fitting that he died at her feet.
Gianna’s mind sputtered as she stared at her father’s cheap analog watch. It continued to move. Tick. Tick. Tick. Even after his body was motionless.
Joel grabbed Nicky’s gun, shoved it in his waistband, and pushed Gianna’s father’s body off Kirin. Both Joel and Kirin’s faces were splattered with blood.
After a long silence, Gianna spoke.
“A defendant, who claims he used deadly force to protect another, has to prove that he reasonably and honestly believed that the person he protected was in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death and that deadly force was the only way to protect him or her from that danger. Furthermore, the defendant must also show that the protected person was not at fault for creating the situation and did not have a duty to leave or avoid the situation.”
When she finished, she took a deep breath. It was over. Well, almost over. She turned and leveled a look at Kirin.
~*~
Uncontrollable shaking was Kirin’s specialty. Her face was warm, wet, and sticky, as if someone had sprinkled hot, iron-smelling paint across her cheeks and forehead. She couldn’t look away. The man who wanted her dead, lay at her feet. Blood pooled around his still angry face. When Joel tapped her, she snapped out of it and glanced up at him. She sucked in a quick breath. God, if she looked as bad as he did, she was glad Will was angled away from her.
“The money.” Gianna spat, locking eyes with Kirin. As she said it, she shoved her gun back down the back of her dress pants.
Her hand still out toward Kirin, Gianna turned and spoke to Leo. “Consider this our gift. And an understanding that I have no connection nor a need to come after you. Nobody in this room does. Go in peace.”
As most everyone turned toward Leo, Joel tucked the stack of cash under Kirin’s hip.
Leo took one hand and smoothed down a ruffled spot on his perfectly white coat. He and Gianna eyed one another for several beats until Kirin cleared her throat.
Gianna cut her eyes toward Kirin, who lifted her hip, revealing the stack of cash.
Reaching down, she grabbed it and held it out, like a treat to a dog.
“I’ve had a change of heart,” Leo smiled.
“How so?” As her eyes narrowed, Gianna pulled the cash back toward her body.
“Well, since Todd and Nicky are now gone, I think I’ll merge this family into my own.”
Gianna’s voice was calm. Attorney calm. “We don’t need a merger. We’re no longer in business.”
“Now, see...” He stalked toward her, “that just don’t work for us. If you ain’t in business, then who do I sell my product to and who do I get the girls from?”
“Law abiding citizens on the street, I imagine.” Gianna’s hand, wrapped around the cash, fell demurely to her side.
Leo narrowed his eyes, “You will hand over that money and you will obey me.” Leo glanced around her. “That yo man?”
Gianna turned, “Not anymore. I don’t need a man.”
“Good. Then you don’t mind if I kill him and the kid, right?” Leo pulled a pistol out of the pocket of his white fur coat and aimed it at Sam.
Kirin stood, hands still tied and screamed, “No! They’re my family. Not hers. Please. I gave you the money. Stop!”
When she stood, Leo’s thugs aimed their firearms at her head from across the room.
Leo clicked off the safety, gun still pointed at Sam’s head, and stared at Gianna. He hadn’t even acknowledged Kirin’s plea.
Acting in tandem and with speed rivaling a gold medalist team, Joel, Sam, the woman who brought in Will, and one of the thugs with the bloody towel from the couch all overtook Leo. With four guns pointed at his head, his bodyguards moved toward them, aiming and yelling.
Stunned, Leo dropped his gun and froze. Gianna pulled hers out, took two steps forward and pressed her gun to his forehead. “I think I’ve proven here today, I can kill without hesitation. I suggest you order your dogs to lower their guns.”
Leo gazed about the room, wide-eyed at first and then, like the switch of a light, casual. Gianna pressed it harder into his forehead. He raised his hands, slowly above his head. His look toward Gianna was a warning. “Okay. You win for now. Lower ‘em.’”
“Boss, we got—”
“I said, lower ‘em.” The men complied, placing the guns on the floor in front of their feet.
Brandon, who’d been inside the room but lurking somewhere behind her, ran and gathered their firearms.
The thug from the couch with the bloody towel, turned and shouted out directions, “Alpha team, show our friends the way out.”
Kirin spun.
She knew that voice.
Steve glanced back as the woman with the short hair and two other men in the room, plus Brandon, shoved the bodyguards out of the room.
Leo’s jaw flexed and anger flashed across his face.
“We don’t take a double-cross lightly.”
Gianna spoke low into the man’s face, “We don’t take a bully lightly, either. I suggest you forget about this day and move along with your life. If not, I promise, my contacts in Washington would love to come down on every part of your business and destroy you. On that, you have my word.”
Joel and Steve pulled Leo’s hands behind his
back and walked him out of the room. His eyes never left Gianna’s as he nodded and repeated, “Okay. Okay. We’ll see.”
As soon as he was out of the room, Gianna’s shoulders slumped several inches. She let out a ragged breath. Sam scooped up Will and held him.
Gianna tossed Leo’s gun on Kirin’s chair and made a swirling motion at Kirin with one finger. She complied. Swiftly, Gianna untied Kirin.
Kirin rubbed her wrists, then began using her sleeve to rub some of the blood off her face, but it wasn’t working. She needed something better. Kirin spied Gianna’s cream colored mid waist jacket and pointed to it, raising her eyebrows. Gianna followed her line of sight and answered, “Uh, no.”
Gianna then took a quick look around, stepped over her father’s body and bending over it, she spoke more to herself than Kirin, “He won’t be needing this.”
She pulled a clean, white hanky from Nicky’s pocket and handed it to Kirin. The two women locked eyes. A silent understanding floated between them.
Kirin quickly wiped as much blood off her face as she could then looked to Gianna for approval. Gianna nodded. Kirin tossed the hanky and ran to Will.
He was awake and crying, rubbing his head. She knelt, using her body to shield Will from the gruesome sight behind her. She glanced over at Sam, who didn’t even hide the fact that tears welled up in his eyes. Holding Will’s head in his lap, he reached over, wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and gently drew her to him. One tender kiss on the forehead told her everything she needed to know.
He was hers. Always had been.
Kirin pulled Will to her, squeezed him, and kissed his head, telling him they were safe. A horrified cry came from the opposite side of the room. Kirin looked up and followed Gianna’s line of sight to Stacy. Her blank look had been replaced by a horrified one. She sat in the hardbacked chair and stared at the two dead bodies on the ground. To one of those people, she’d been married.
Kirin handed Will back to Sam and jumped to her feet, but Gianna got to Stacy first. Stacy stared from Gianna’s face to the bodies and back. A surprisingly nurturing, calm voice came from Gianna as she untied her. When Stacy saw Kirin coming, she burst into tears.
Unraveling Page 17
