The Kozlov man holding my right arm pulls out a gun and points it directly at my head.
“One more step, Volkov,” he shouts over the noise, “and she dies right here.”
Ledger stops. Goes completely still. But his gun remains pointed at the man’s head.
“Let her go,” Ledger says. His voice is quiet, but it cuts through everything else like a blade. “Let her go, and I’ll let you walk out of here.”
“You’ll let us walk out?” The Kozlov man laughs. “You’re in no position to make deals.”
“I have six men in this restaurant and another four outside. You have two.” Ledger’s eyes flick to the other Kozlov men. “Those aren’t good odds.”
“But I have your wife. And your child.” The gun presses harder against my temple. The metal is cold, unyielding. “That changes the odds significantly.”
Everything is moving too fast and too slow at the same time. I can see Silas positioning himself to the left. Ledger’s men are circling around toward the kitchen. Diners are cowering under tables, servers pressed against walls.
Mason is on the floor, blood on his face, staring at the scene he created.
“Last chance,” Ledger says to the Kozlov man. “Let her go. I’ll shoot you in the head. Center mass. You’ll be dead before you can pull the trigger.”
“You’re not that fast.”
“Try me.”
The man’s finger tightens on the trigger. I see it happen in slow motion. See the micro-movement, the shift in pressure.
And then Mason moves. He’s still on the floor, bleeding, looking half-dead. But he launches himself at the Kozlov man’s legs, wrapping his arms around his knees.
“Run!” Mason screams at me.
The gun shifts away from my head. The man tries to aim at Mason instead.
And Ledger fires.
The shot catches the Kozlov man in the shoulder. He spins, loses his grip on me. I stumble backward, falling into a table.
Then everything explodes into chaos. Gunfire erupts from all directions. The other Kozlov men return fire. Tables splinter. Dishes shatter. The air fills with smoke and the sharp tang of gunpowder.
I’m on the ground, hands over my stomach, trying to make myself small. Trying to protect the baby.
Through the chaos, I see Mason still on the floor. Still wrapped around the Kozlov man’s legs. Still trying to hold him down. And then I see the second Kozlov man turn his gun toward Mason’s back.
“No!” I scream, but it’s lost in the noise.
The shot is deafening. Mason’s body jerks. Blood blooms across his back, spreading fast. He makes this soft, surprised sound like he can’t believe this is happening.
Then Ledger is there, pulling me up. “Come on. Now.”
I look back one last time. Mason is on the floor, blood pooling beneath him. His eyes find mine. He mouths something—I’m sorry—and then his eyes close.
“Keep moving!” Ledger shouts.
We burst through the exit into blinding sunlight. There are more of Ledger’s men outside, guns drawn, forming a perimeter. Marcus has the car running, doors open.
Ledger pushes me into the back seat and climbs in after me. “Go! Now!”
Marcus guns the engine. We peel out of the parking lot as sirens wail in the distance, getting closer.
My body won’t stop shaking. Ledger pulls me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me tightly. “You’re safe,” he says into my hair. “You’re safe now.”
