“Brynn, leave,” he ordered.
She sidled up to him. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
“Dammit, Brynn.”
“If you like cutting people so much, why didn’t you do some of your handiwork on Cullen? Why something as boring as a gunshot?” Brynn asked, staring at Vargas from Maddox’s side.
Vargas’ lip curled. “Boring? I’m going to make you a work of art with my blades.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think you have it in you. Maybe you used to. Maybe you got lazy with Cullen. Maybe you’re losing your skills. How long are your men going to follow you if you can’t impress them with something more than a gunshot? Without fear, you’re nothing. Just some skinny, slimy vermin. You’re losing your edge,” Maddox said, following Brynn’s line of thought which actually happened to be brilliant. A man like Vargas didn’t appreciate anyone considering him ordinary, and Brynn had reduced him to just that.
“Cullen was a sniveling piece of shit not even worth my blade. He wouldn’t even put up a fight, because underneath all that old money and flash he was weak. The bullet I put in him was even a waste,” Vargas said with a sneer, spit flying from his mouth.
A second after the confession slipped from his lips the sound of shattering glass echoed through the room, plunging them into chaos. Smoke bombs landed at their feet, filling the air and making it almost impossible to see.
“Hold your breath!” Maddox ordered.
Vargas tore free from Maddox’s grip and lunged for Brynn. His bodyguards hit the floor, grabbing their throats and coughing as they tried to crawl their way out. Brynn ducked out into the hall, making her escape, with Vargas hot on her heels.
Maddox followed, tripping on bodies along the way. His elbow hit the knife tray, sending blades raining down on Vargas’ men on the floor. A few crunched under Maddox’s feet as he pushed his way through the smoke, his shirt pulled up over his face, searching for Brynn.
He skidded to a stop as everything moved in fraction-of-a-second increments. Brynn met his eyes as she punched in the last number on the self-destruct panel.
Vargas’ arm shot out and locked on her hair, wrenching her head back.
She reached for the green key, her fingers missing it entirely, her arms flailing in the air.
Vargas aimed his gun at Maddox and laughed, the sound bordering on hysteria, his teeth bared, the cords in his neck bulging.
“You thought you could outsmart me? Now the bitch is going to pay.”
Brynn met Maddox’s eyes, her own pleading.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and lunged for the green button. Her fingers caught the edge and the self-destruct activated.
With the gun trained on him he couldn’t get to her, but he tried to advance anyway.
“Don’t even think about coming near her!” Vargas yelled.
His team poured in, their guns drawn. Vargas spotted them and pressed tight against the wall, pulling Brynn in front of him as a human shield.
“Get out!” Maddox yelled to the team.
They watched him, their mouths pinched, their instincts telling them to do more. “Out, damn you!” He figured at best they had forty seconds.
They backed their way out, their guns trained on Vargas the whole time although he kept Brynn tight to him, pulling her hair so hard she cried out.
“You can’t get out of this, Vargas. Let her go,” Maddox demanded.
“If I die, she dies,” Vargas snarled at him, pulling Brynn’s hair harder. He yanked her head back and turned her, licking the side of her face.
“You son of a—”
“Maddox, go!” Brynn screamed.
“I’m not leaving without you!” Maddox yelled.
“There’s no time!” Brynn cried.
