He’s too exposed!Bryn didn’t know what to do but before he could move, a shot from the opposite side of the room took the officer out. He fell and his weapon clattered to the floor.
Bryn scanned the room, heart pounding. Warden, his expression hard as stone, lowered his weapon. Bryn crawled out from beneath his table.
“Is everyone okay?” It was another of the court officers who spoke. He walked toward Bryn and Warden.
“Yes, I…” Bryn gasped as the man grabbed him around the neck, pressing the barrel of his gun into Bryn’s ribs.
“Nobody move or this one dies.” He walked backward in the direction of the exit, pulling Bryn with him. “The boss will love getting his hands on you. The trial’s fucked, you’ll earn me a nice bonus.”
“Let him go,” Gunnar said, aiming his gun at the man’s head.
“Not a chance. You won’t risk hitting this one.”
A single shot rang out and Bryn’s captor dropped like a stone. Bryn ran to Gunnar, searching the room to see who’d fired. Emmett, white-faced, dropped onto a chair, gun in hand.
“What the fuck?” Bryn exclaimed. “Emmett gets a gun but not me? So not fair.”
“That’s your take on this dumpster fire?” Gunnar asked.
“Yes.” Bryn pouted.
“You want this one?” Emmett held his out but Warden extracted it from his grip. “Nicely done, Emmett. I’m proud of you.”
“You are?” A smile spread across Emmett’s face and his eyes brightened.
“Always.” Warden patted his shoulder.
“You see that, don’t you?” Bryn asked Gunnar. “Those two…”
“Yeah, I see it. You okay?”
“Yeah. Those guys aren’t, though.” He gestured at the dead bodies on the floor.
“One injured witness too. What a fucking mess.”
“Will this stop the case going ahead?”
“I guess.”
“No,” Warden interjected. “You can read the rest of them, Bryn. The threat has passed. Let’s not give Russo what he wanted.”
Bryn shrugged. “You’re the boss.”
“Indeed. Gunnar, if you could get the bodies moved and make sure the injured witness is given medical attention. Then we can get on with this.”
The judge came to stand next to Warden. “How could these men have gotten past security vetting?”
“They may have only been paid off recently. Russo has money to burn. It’s more important than ever that this trial goes ahead. We need to show him he’s not above the law.”
“You should get the augur a bulletproof vest,” the judge said.
“Hmm.” Warden scowled.
“More like a Kevlar onesie,” Gunnar said.
“I’m right here!” Bryn yelled. “Line up the damn witnesses so I can go drown my trauma in chocolate milkshakes and overdose on Twinkies.”
Chapter Eleven
