“I’m no c-coward,” he gasped. “I’m no coward…”
Dorian took a step closer to him. “Prove it right now. To me. But, it’s only to me. Everyone else goes, including Ronan.”
I shook my head, wanting to yell in protest, but the words wouldn’t come.
“No,” Malcolm snapped. “Ronan stays. You stay. The rest… They can go.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. The fact Malcolm agreed to do anything except kill all of us surprised the hell out of me. Dorian shook his head, countering Malcolm’s demand.
“Your brother is unconscious, defenseless. It’s bad enough you shot him in cold blood. I’m not going to give you a chance to kill him a second time.”
While Dorian spoke, Malcolm reached for the detonator at the center of his vest.
“This is not a negotiation. Ronan stays or we will all die right now.”
My attention remained riveted on him until I heard the sound of someone coughing. I looked in the direction where Ronan lay on the floor. He was trying to stand, having difficulty doing it on his own.
Dorian nodded towards his men, “Help him up, for fuck’s sake.”
Ronan wobbled to his feet, stabilizing himself by grabbing onto the shoulder of one of the men.
“Tempest, baby,” Dorian began, staring at me. “Listen to me. You need to go, you and Ainsley both. Everything is going to be fine, but you can’t stay here.”
I shook my head back and forth. “No, no! I’m not going to leave, I…”
“Tempest!” Dorian yelled in a way I’d never heard from him. “Go!”
He looked at both of his men. “Take them, now!”
Before Ainsley or I could react, Dorian’s men grabbed hold of us and started to drag us away.
22
Showdown (Dorian)
I hated having to do that, but I didn’t have any goddamn choice.
Eventually, the sound of Ainsley and Tempest yelling and screaming started to fade. I got final confirmation of it when one of the warehouse’s heavy doors slammed in the distance. I knew she was safe. Now, it was time to deal with Malcolm once and for all.
“You’re going to die here. You realize that don’t you?”
Malcolm didn’t respond, the blood loss was starting to take its toll.
“Here’s the thing though, I promised I wouldn’t be the one to kill you. But there’s no fucking way I’m going to let you bleed out either.”
Malcolm sputtered a chuckle. “We are all going to die together. Your threats don’t bother me.”
I shook my head. “You’re bluffing. You don’t have the balls to do it.”
“Fuck you, you arrogant prick.”
No sooner did he finish speaking than Malcolm moved his hand towards the center of his chest and closed his fingers around the detonator, activating it.
Shit. The fucking thing started beeping.
I took a couple of steps back. “What the fuck did you do?”
Malcolm’s balance threatened to leave him. His speech started slur. “I did… What I said I… What I said I would do. Make peash, peace with your maker.”
I raised my pistol higher, aiming it between his eyes.
“Go ahead,” he stammered, his body starting to sway. “You can’t… The building… you, you’ll never get out, never get out in time.”
I swallowed hard and slipped my finger around the trigger. “Nothing would make me happier than to spray your brains all over this floor.”
But I never got the chance to make good on my promise. From behind, a gunshot rang out, causing me to jerk towards it and look. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw a barely conscious Ronan propped up on one elbow with a pistol in his hand.
Malcolm’s body hit the floor behind me. Turning around again, I noticed he’d been shot right between the eyes, a perfect kill.
Unfortunately, the timer was still running. Shit!
There was no time to talk about what happened. I ran towards Ronan and knelt down next to him.
“Can you stand, man? Can you walk?”
Ronan seemed out of it. He looked at me, his eyes glazed and distant. “What?”
Even though he must have known what he did, he just wasn’t all there. I didn’t have any choice. I reached down and wrapped my arms around his waist, trying to get him to stand. Ronan was a big guy. It was no easy feat. After a brief struggle, I finally got him upright, but he couldn’t steady himself.
I had no choice but to try and carry his ass out of there. Ducking underneath his chest, I bent at the knees and stood straight up, holding him across my shoulders like a huge log.
“Grab on to me,” I said, wondering what the hell I was doing. He had to weigh at least two hundred twenty pounds. Adding to that the fact he went completely limp, I had serious doubts about how far I get.
Luckily, he was coherent enough to do what I said. I felt some strength come into his fingers when he grabbed onto me. I didn’t wait another second. Walking at first, I eventually worked my way up to a jog, headed in the direction of the same door Ainsley and Tempest exited minutes earlier.
Rounding the final corner, I saw it straight ahead and picked up even more speed, going as fast as I possibly could. No sooner had I done so than I felt Ronan’s grip lose strength and his body go limp once more. His weight shifted, and I lost my grip. Ronan slid down my backside, tripping me and knocking me to the ground in the process.
After hitting the cement floor, I shook my head and looked at him.
He was out cold.
Fuck.
There was no way I’d be able to pick him up again and carry him. I was out of gas. Thinking quickly, I rushed over to Ronan and grabbed him hard at the ankles. Leaning backward I started to pull him, dragging him across the shiny surface of the warehouse floor. However, once he began to move, I noticed a trail of blood streaking from the back of his head.
“Christ!”
There wasn’t any time. We had to get out of there.
Throwing my head back, I closed my eyes tight and yelled at the top of my lungs, summoning every bit of strength I had. I staggered backwards in small shuffle steps, hoping against hope I’d reach the door before Malcolm got his revenge.
After several seconds, I bumped into the door and kicked it open with my heel. Bracing the door with my body, I dragged Ronan out inch by tortuous inch. From behind, I heard the sound of people running in my direction. I looked up and noticed two of my men headed towards us.
Raising a hand at them, I yelled, “Stop! Stay back! Stay back! Stay back, god dammit!”
They froze, and I snapped my head towards Ronan again. I nearly had him out of the warehouse, but dragging him across the parking lot was not an option. I had no choice but to lift him again.
If I didn’t, we’d both die.
Not a single muscle in my body cooperated. I struggled to get leverage and lift him, trying every single angle I could think of to do it.
“Come on!” I yelled, grunting, lifting and pulling with every fiber in my being.
At last, I managed to get one of his arms over my shoulder, and then with quivering legs underneath me, I pushed myself into a standing position, slinging his motionless body over my shoulder.