Jesus Christ!
Mitch stepped forward, getting close enough to Stack to bump arms. Stack flinched at the touch but relaxed when he sawit was Mitch at his side. This whole thing had everyone on edge. At the same time as Mitch moved, Finn stepped close to Rocky, hand on Rocky’s forearm to push the gun he held toward the floor. Mitch’s throat closed up when he saw Finn so close to a weapon.
Rocky elbowed Finn away, focusing on Slider. “Put your hand out and tell your goons to step back.”
“No fucking way!”
“Rocky, this isn’tthe way to handle this. Put the gun away,” Finn said.
“Stay back.” Rocky shoved him, causing Finn to take a step forward. In the commotion, one of the Brutes pulled a gun on Finn while Slider faced off against Rocky, arms extended. The other half dozen or so men held their ground, the tension in the warehouse palpable.
Bile rose in Mitch’s throat as he saw the gun pointed at the man he loved.This wasn’t supposed to happen! Finn was an accountant, for Christ’s sake. He worked in an office. He shouldn’t be in a situation where his life was at risk.
Mitch inched closer to Rocky. He kept his voice low. “You don’t want to do this, Rocky. Not this way, anyway.”
“Don’t tell me what I fucking want.” The hand holding the gun trembled. It wouldn’t take much to get it from Rocky’s grip, butthe risk of the gun going off was too high, and God only knew what would happen then.
“Let me do it. You said you wanted me to do it,” Mitch pleaded.
“I’ve got it under control.”
“The fuck you do.” Slider’s second-in-command stepped forward, gun trained on Finn, arm steady and focused, the complete opposite of Rocky’s. Finn cringed, and Mitch’s breath caught.
“Drop the gun, Rocky,” Slidersaid. “If you want your brother to live, then drop your fucking weapon.”
Rocky’s answering bark of laugher caused the hair to rise on the back of Mitch’s neck. Finn blanched. Mitch forced his gaze away and back on Rocky. The man was insane.
“Rocky, you need to drop the gun,” Mitch pleaded, hoping he would see reason. “You fire, and they’ll retaliate. This isn’t going to go down the way you wantit. There’s no way you can come out a winner. No one can come out a winner.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Rocky answered.
There was no bloody way he knew what he was doing. His eyes were moving from left to right, the hand holding the gun was shaking, and sweat had beaded on his forehead. It was hard to tell if it was the effects of the drugs, but, regardless of the cause, Rocky was on edge andnot listening. In that instant Mitch knew they were in trouble. Deep trouble.
“Move over here.” Slider gestured to the guy at his side, who took one large step and wrapped an arm about Finn’s biceps. He hauled him forward despite Finn’s attempts to stay where he was.
“No!” Mitch yelled and lunged for Finn to hold him back, but Rocky pointed the gun at him.
“Get back.”
“Put the gun down, oryour brother will get a bullet,” Slider said.
Mitch looked at Rocky, horror dawning as Rocky grinned. It was finally clear that Rocky didn’t really give a shit whether Finn was killed or not. Any love or family loyalty he’d had for his brother was long gone. He was a complete sociopath. Rocky’s laugh echoed throughout the warehouse, and even the other Soldiers looked uneasy, clearly not understandingwhat the hell was going down. Mitch wanted to yell at them, to tell them their leader was completely crazy, but he had no idea what their reaction would be.
The sudden sound of gunfire caused adrenaline to surge. Mitch’s hands tingled, and his heart was in his throat at the shock of the noise. Commotion broke out in the warehouse, and men—Brutes and Soldiers—all reached for their weapons. Rockyaimed at Slider and pulled the trigger. Mitch watched, as if in slow motion, as he turned the gun on the guy who held Finn. Or maybe he was aiming at Finn. Who the fuck knew what Rocky was thinking?
“No!” Mitch yelled a warning as he threw himself at Rocky, grabbing his arm and wresting away the weapon. The gun went off, the sound joining the other gunshots echoing in the building, the shot loudand jarring. Rocky fell to the ground. Mitch snatched up the gun and turned to see the guy who held Finn point his weapon at Mitch.Jesus. He must have shot Rocky.
Mitch’s immediate reaction was to level the gun at the son of a bitch, but all he could see was horror etched on Finn’s beautiful face. There was no way he could hit the guy without putting Finn’s life at risk.
Before Mitch couldeven fathom his next move, the guy pulled the trigger, and searing pain in his chest forced Mitch to drop his weapon. His legs gave out at the sudden and intense flash of excruciating agony, and he dropped to his knees. He looked up in time to see Finn wrench himself from the guy’s hold and throw himself onto Mitch, sending them both toppling to the floor.
“I’ve got you.” Finn’s breath was hotagainst his ear, the words hardly audible over the crack of gunfire. “I’ve got you.”
“Police. Drop your weapons!”
The relief was instantaneous.Thank God. Finn will be all right.
The sounds faded, and cold stole up Mitch’s body. He focused on Finn’s warm arms and his repeated words, “I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” until finally he gave in to the darkness.
