I drop the knife. “Pick it up and cut him loose,” I demand, kicking it over to her.
She mutters something in her language and spits at my feet, missing my boots by a hair.
“I don’t know what the hell you just said, but untie him,” I bark.
“Fuck you.” She draws it out.
With one swift motion, I aim for her right arm and shoot. The loud ringing from the shot is overshadowed by her screams. Serena clutches her wound to stop the bleeding while spewing what I assume to be death threats. I reposition my mark as her minions run through the halls, headed our way. They burst past the threshold with their weapons drawn. A slew of demands fly throughout the space, but neither of us plans to budge.
“Drop your gun,” Gabe says forcefully.
“Not going to happen. I’ve shot your precious leader once, don’t make me do it again.”
“Застрелить ее.” Shoot her. Serena seethes.
“Don’t do it. Whatever she just said to you, don’t think about it. You may shoot me, but that doesn’t stop me from putting one in her head before I drop,” I say, bluffing and silently hoping they believe I’m capable of doing that. Truth is, I’m shaking on the inside and am almost certain they will take us both out. But I’m praying the vow they made to protect her life matters more.
Liam stands at my side. Even with his arms tied behind his back, I still feel his protection.
“Drop your guns.” I straighten my shoulders, trying not to appear nervous.
The three men glare at me for several seconds, probably contemplating whether they should honor me or respect her. I grow impatient and shoot at the floorboard next to Serena. This gives them the encouragement needed to take heed of my request. They quickly lower their weapons and stand with arms held up around their heads.
“Kick them over,” Liam adds, and they comply.
“Serena, unless you want me to put a bullet in your other arm, pick up the knife and cut the ropes from Liam’s wrist.”
Still on her knees, she grabs the shiv and orders Liam to turn around. He does slowly, allowing his gaze to find mine. I want to look at him, but through fear of the three goons in front of me attacking us, I don’t. The cord used to bind him falls, and he snatches the shank from her then returns to my side.
“Get over by the window.” With the nozzle of my gun, I point them in that direction.
Liam kneels to pick up a gun from the floor and place the others behind his back. “You heard her.” He groans, positioning his aim at them.
They move in place a few feet behind Serena who remains hunched over, gripping at her arm.
“I have this. See if you can find the rope,” he whispers to me, but I don’t move.
My vision narrows in on her as the realization that I could kill her and be rid of her for good sets in. Soon, Liam’s voice is nothing more than a hushed mumble teasing at the back of my mind. I take several sharp breaths and tighten my grip. Liam wraps his hand over mine, squeezing gently and forcing me to lower the pistol to the floor. I blink away the daze I’m in and look to him.
“Lotus. We’re okay now. See if you can find something to tie them up with.”
I relax my shoulders and nod before slowly creeping my way out the door. I head down the hall to my right, only to find an empty bathroom and a cobweb-filled closet. The tension in my muscles releases on the way back in the other direction, past the room that had been my prison. I reach the front of the small house where Serena and her team set up shop. There’s empty food containers and water bottles scattered about. The amount of trash tells me they’ve been here a few days. The thought of them hiding in the distance, watching us, sends chills through my body, and I have to shake off the eerie feeling brewing inside me.
I step into the dirty kitchen and spot rope and several cords of zip ties. As I stuff a few into my back pocket, my attention is drawn to the sound of footsteps. By the slow, soft thuds, I gather that whoever the person is, they don’t want to be heard. A brisk, cool air enters the house, and I shiver. Panic sets in, and I shove my gun toward the kitchen foyer, ready to shoot. I involuntarily close my eyes and rest my finger on the trigger.
“Constance,” a familiar voice calls out.
I crack one eye open, relieved to see a friendly face. “Justin.” I lower my hands to my sides and allow myself to take in a clarifying breath.
“Where’s Liam?”
“In the back room. I’m getting stuff to tie them up.”
He takes the rope from the counter and nod for me to follow him back. We enter the room, distracting Liam for a bit. Ever the opportunist, Adrik lounges forward, but before he can attack, Justin puts a slug in his shoulder. He falls to the floor next to Serena, crying out in pain. Justin creeps toward Larry and Gabe with his weapon aimed at them. I follow suit, pulling the zip ties from my pocket. I hand Justin one, and we use them to bind their hands behind their backs then splitting the rope to secure their legs. I watch as JP pushes Gabe on his side and connects the rope to the zip ties, making it nearly impossible for him to break free. I do the same to Larry but need Justin’s help to tighten my knots.
I trade places with Liam, pointing my gun at Serena so he can repeat the method we used on the others on her and Adrik. The man cries louder when Liam yanks his arms behind him.
Serena glares at me and spits near my feet. “You better kill me. Because when this is over, I will come for you. All of you.”
Liam laughs at her empty threats. “Yeah, okay,” he adds sarcastically and turns to his friend. “How did you find us?”
“Ran a trace on your phone. Smart move calling me and leaving the line open. I found the car out by the back gate of the cemetery and followed the trail here.”
They embrace each other before storing their respective weapons in the waistband of their pants.
“Good looking out,” Liam says then turns to me. “Lotus, you did great.” He cups my face. “Thanks for having my back.”
I smile gingerly and allow him to place a kiss on my lips. Serena continues to curse us, making idle threats, but I’ve chosen to ignore her. Yesterday, hell, this morning, I would have been terrified she’d make good on those promises, but now, not so much. There’s no way for me to be sure, but I have a strong feeling she’ll be going away for a long, long time. With all the years of evidence compiled against her, even if Johnson destroyed most of it, I believe deep down that Liam will see to it she never hurts anyone else again.
“What’s next, L?” Justin questions.
Liam wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me close. “I need to call the captain and inform him of what’s been going on. Then we can clear these things up. I know it took forever, but we’re both done with this shit.”
A satisfying grin stretches across Justin’s face, and he nods his approval. Liam lets go of me and, with a hand on his friend’s shoulder, he coaxes him out into the hall. I glance around at my captors, unfazed by the snarls and deadly stares.
“You think you’ve won. But remember, he cast you aside once before, you’d be a fool to think he wouldn’t do it again.” Serena barks.
I lift my chin high and lean back into my stance with my arms stretched out, silently conveying the amount of ease and control I feel in this moment. I could waste my energy fighting with her, but that’ll be what she wants, and I refuse to spend another second thinking about her. On my way out, I stoop to retrieve the knife we stole from Adrik and do one last scan to be sure we aren’t leaving any weapons behind. Pulling the door closed, I rush to catch up with the guys. I slide my arm around Liam’s, smiling when he looks down at me. He kisses the top of my head and leads me back to safety.