“Nobody. We told him to leave, KC,” Nate said.
“Then why’s he still here?” KC asked.
Movement behind KC caught my attention.
Nate’s head twisted in that direction, too. “You didn’t tie him up?”
KC turned, but it was too late. Porter had closed in on him.
Nate ran to them, but stopped half-way there. “Put that down. You don’t know what you’re doin’ with that piece.”
KC faced Porter fully, and I saw Porter holding a gun. The way KC reached to his back, Porter must have snagged it from KC’s waistband.
My gun was at my hip. I reached for the butt and stopped.
“Don’t move or I’ll shoot,” Porter yelled. He had the gun trained on me.
From the crazed gleam in his eyes, he was going to shoot no matter what I did.
“Drop the piece,” Nate ordered.
“Not so tough now, are you, Rafferty?” Porter sneered.
“He’s leaving. Put the gun down,” Nate said.
“I’m not leaving without Alexandra,” I said.
“She ain’t here,” Nate said.
Porter’s attention shifted to Nate, though the gun was still aimed at me. “Where is she?”
“She left with Brantley,” Nate said.
Earlier, I had a clear view of the inside of the Beamer. Lex wasn’t there. Nate lied to Porter, and I could imagine why.
Porter glared at me for a beat, then a slow, maniacal smile spread on his face. “Good. She won’t hear him yell in pain.”
“Don’t,” Nate yelled.
The gun went off.
I intended to drop to the ground and roll away.
All I felt was my body violently jerking backward, then warmth mingled with pain blooming in my chest.
Chapter twenty-three
Taken Away
Alexandra
Thedoortotheroom opened and I woke with a start, despising that I fell asleep. With effort, I forced myself to sit up from the beanbag, but I’d been right earlier: getting out of the thing was a trick.
Suarez entered the room and shut the door. My instincts were on high alert, though some part of me believed I had nothing to fear from him.
Even with my hands tied, I managed to unfold from the beanbag and stand.
“I don’t like men who rape women.”
