“I don’t know that taunting the most dangerous man I know with signs outside his hometown is keeping it calm and cool. But I appreciate the support.”
“Of course.”
I sighed.
“Thanks, Connor,” I said. “Sorry if I’ve been a bitch to you.”
I heard Connor’s breath hitch. The motorcycles were coming within earshot of me. That meant we only had about fifteen, maybe twenty seconds before they reached me.
“You’re not a bitch,” he said. “You’re firm in what you want. And you call it like it is. If you think I deserved being bitched at, I did.”
Well, fuck, Connor…
“Well, hate to act like it, but they’re pulling up now,” I said. “Mute your microphone. I’ll leave the phone on so you can hear what’s going on.”
“Understood.”
And with that, it sounded like the call disconnected. It, of course, did not.
I took a deep breath. Six—six, are you fucking kidding me—motorcycles pulled up. All of the guys riding them wore bandanas like the Bandits wore. It was a fucking concerning sign, especially considering Damian had never shown up with more than three and usually only had two.
Hey, I had asked for the hornet to come my way. And he’d brought some of his drones with him. What should I have expected, him to come alone?
The bikes all cut off at once. But one got off first.
Damian.
The other five followed behind, but it was very clear Damian was leading the charge. And boy, he looked fucking pissed. I’d trolled him before to the point that he’d flashed his gun at me, but compared to now, he had looked like he wanted to sing Hakuna Matata with me.
Damian entered the store, immediately whipped out a gun, and fired it straight to the ceiling.
“Not one for foreplay with your threats, are you, Damian?” I said, but I was terrified my smart mouth was going to get me murdered.
“Care to fucking explain what the fuck that shit outside town was?” he said, keeping his gun pointed at me.
I gulped. I’d had guns pulled on me before, though never actually held on me. They’d been brandished, but not pointed at me for long.
But never before had my life felt so much in the balance.
“You guys are kind of proving my point right now,” I said. “Brandishing a gun like this in my store? You know that under stand your ground laws, I could shoot you right now—”
“That’s not going to fucking happen,” Damian said. “One, you’re not a fast-enough shot, bitch. You don’t have anything in your hands. I can fucking see them from here.”
Shit, he’s got a point. Keep the microphone on.
“Second, no one’s dying here tonight,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to teach you a lesson.”
“A lesson?” I said, giving a fake laugh. “What are you going to do, rob my store and tell me I’ve been a bad girl?”
“That’s part of it,” Damian said.
The other six surrounded me and pulled their guns out. They didn’t point them at me, but it was starting to dawn on me what was about to happen.
“Shoot the cameras.”
The Bandits turned and blasted all of the cameras in sight, including the ones in the ceiling. They knew what to look for. My ears rang with the sound of gunfire, and I could barely hear Damian speak next.
“Now then,” Damian said, going down to his pants. “You’re going to live. So don’t you worry. But if you think I’m a dick, maybe it’s time you see what my dick actually looks like.”
