“I don’t fucking believe you,” Blake replies with less assurance than before.
I meet her gaze head-on, not flinching at having my gun in my face, but also relatively certain that she isn’t bluffing. “She’ll do it.”
Blake stares at me and shakes his head. “There’s no fuckin’ way, man. Just knock her senseless so we can get back to business.”
I shift minutely, and in response, she flips the safety with practiced ease. Her finger is on the trigger, ready to squeeze, and again, I laugh and say quietly, “Oh, she’s ready, she’s totally ready.”
“I am ready,” she answers quietly. “I’ll shoot every last motherfucking one of you if I have to.”
“You only got fifteen shots,” I reply.
“And there’s only seven of you.”
The fact that she knows exactly how many people are in this room is telling, especially given that a few have left since the gun came out. But I also know that at this point, letting the two of them go is likely not an option.
I turn to Blake and say, “Just let her go, man.” His eyes widen, and he goes to respond, so I interrupt, “Just do it. We’ll deal with it later.”
Blake hesitates for a moment and then removes his arm from the woman, who’s no longer crying but looks even more nervous than before. She moves to stand, scurrying off the sofa. Blake gives her a shove, so she falls face-first on the floor. She jumpsback to her feet and rushes to her friend, who says, “Get out of here. I’ll meet you at the car.”
She doesn’t waste any time arguing; she books it out the door, her hurried footfalls quickly fading in the distance. The woman keeps the gun pointed at me as she slowly steps back, easing herself against the wall and then making her way toward the door, where she pauses, her eyes locked with mine.
Then she winks at me and disappears, taking my freaking gun with her.
THREE
AN AGENDA
Vivian
When I invited my friends to check out this bar with the idea that I might also be able to do some recon work, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.
Hindsight being what it is, I definitely should have shared a bit more of my reasoning for wanting to check this place out. The common consensus that we were just trying out new local places to party was not at all accurate.
I mean, sure, I had inklings that it was a mistake pretty early on, but it wasn’t until Evie disappeared through the back doors that I accepted the severe error in my judgment. When the overwhelming panic set in, I found myself standing in the middle of a room surrounded by a bunch of thugs with a handgun pointed at someone’s face.
At least Evie didn’t stop and question anything when she hightailed it out of there, and I have to squash my urge to race after her, knowing full well that appearances are everything, and the last thing I want to appear is as if I’m in a hurry because I’m running scared.
The fact of the matter is, I should be freaking scared and hiding somewhere beneath the adrenaline, but I’m definitely not particularly happy.
Flipping the safety, I shove the gun into the waistband of my pants at my lower back. Exiting the building, I find Evie and the rest of our friends standing not even ten feet from the damn door. I close the distance between us swiftly, the urgency of our situation now churning in my guts as I say, “What the hell, Evie? I told you I would meet you at the car.”
She turns on me with wide eyes and hisses, “Well, pardon me for trying to manage my slight panic at the situation.”
I instantly lose some of my rage, knowing this entire ordeal is my fault. I never should have brought them here, and I most certainly never should have brought them here without filling them in on the full story.
I look around at everyone standing there staring at me, and then I ask, “Where’s Jackie?”
“She went to get the car,” Mindy answers.
I nod and then motion for them all to move as I say, “Well, let's go. No point in making her drive all the way over here.”
They all take off in that direction without further comment, but then Krystin sidles up to me and asks, “What ‘s going on, Viv?”
I look over at her with raised brows and press my lips together as I shake my head. She narrows her eyes at me and throws her elbow into my side as she adds, “That’s not gonna cut it this time. I’m gonna need an explanation.”
We continue to walk hurriedly in the direction of the car, moving to the side of all the parked vehicles as headlights appear directly in front of us. Squinting against the glare of the headlights, I see the girls further ahead entering the vehicle, indicating it must be Jackie. Krystin’s hand on my arm stops me, and I turn to face her as I reply, “We can talk about it in the car.”
I spin to continue walking to the car, but she jumps in front of me, stopping me. Her eyes search mine, her brow furrowing as she takes both of my hands in hers, squeezing them as she leans in and whispers, “Whatever it is. We’ll figure it out.”
