Xander ran toward the door. “Point and shoot!” he repeated on his way out.
Niyah looked down at the gun. It didn’t feel right in her hands. But, if need be, she was prepared to defend herself along with Xander’s family. Bella dug through the duffel bag. She pulled out a big shot and a box of bullets.
Senator Creed racked his shotgun and ran out of the room. Whereas he went left, Bella’s dad, armed with Donna’s gun, went to the right.
Taylor’s dad grabbed his wife and ushered the other women into the bathroom. “Get down and keep the door locked.”
“I have a gun,” Niyah protested. “I can help.”
Mr. Montgomery grabbed her arm and gave her a stern look. “Keep them safe,” he commanded.
“I will,” Niyah promised with a nod. She jumped. The gunshots had gotten closer. In fact, it sounded like they were inside the house. Mr. Montgomery stepped out of the bathroomand pulled the door closed. Niyah turned to the other ladies. “It’s gonna be okay.”
Mrs. Devereaux pulled a small handgun from her bosom. “I’m not staying in here.” She pushed past Niyah and opened the door just as a deafening boom filled the room.
Mr. Montgomery’s body flew backward and crashed through the bathroom door. Niyah’s mouth flew open, but her scream was stifled by the horror of the quarter-sized hole in his chest. Mrs. Montgomery, on the other hand, had no trouble finding her voice. The scream that poured from her throat chilled Niyah to the bone.
“James!” she cried, pushing through to get to her husband. She threw herself over him, shielding him from the armed man standing over them.
“Oh, my God.” Niyah was looking into the face of evil, and it was familiar. It was the Asian man she’d run into at hospital; the one who’d been dressed like a doctor. With a shaky hand, Niyah raised the gun and pointed it in his direction. He didn’t seem at all threatened. In fact, he smiled. It was then that Niyah noticed he was puppeteering Bella by a fist full of her hair. He yanked her in front of him to serve as a human shield.
Bella was still holding the box of ammunition. Unfortunately, the shotgun was on the floor by the duffle bag. With Bella in tow, the man with the gun backed away from the bathroom.
With her hands raised in surrender, Bella’s mother stepped forward. “Please,” she begged. “Please, don’t hurt my baby.”
With every step backward step the gunman took, Mrs. Devereaux bravely stepped forward. “Take me,” she bartered. “Please, take me.”
“I don’t want you!”
Niyah could do nothing to help Bella, so she dropped to her knees and grabbed Mrs. Montgomery by the shoulders. “Let me in here,” she urged.
Niyah tried to pull the terrified woman off of her husband, but she had melted herself to him. Thankfully, Dr. Creed pulled herself together and joined them on the bathroom floor. “Martha, you have to let us work.”
The doctor’s words must have gone unheard because Taylor’s mother refused to move. Niyah took a deep breath and prepared for the backlash she was about to receive. She crawled behind Mrs. Montgomery, wrapped her arms around her, and forcibly removed her from her husband. Niyah took the elbows and backward headbutt while Dr. Creed took position on top of Mr. Montgomery.
“Mrs. Montgomery, please calm down,” Niyah urged. “You gotta let us help him.”
Though still shaking like a leaf, she seemed to finally understand that she was in the way. When Niyah let her go, Mrs. Montgomery inched over to the wall and sat. She wiped her tear-soaked face and nodded toward her husband. “Go.” The word came out in a quiver.
Dr. Creed was doing chest compressions, so Niyah crawled over to help. “What do you need?”
“Pulse?”
Checking his pulse while he was receiving compression was nearly impossible, but Niyah worked it out.
“It’s faint,” she revealed.
“Apply pressure,” Dr. Creed instructed.
Niyah could see the fear in his eyes when she pressed down on the wound. “I got you, Mr. Montgomery,” she whispered.
Blood loss made her hands more slippery with each compression. Heavy footsteps prompted Niyah to look up.Lincoln and Lucas had entered the room with weapons pointed at the gunman. She’d been so busy trying to keep Taylor’s dad alive that she’d nearly forgotten that they were in the middle of a standoff. It had also occurred to her that Xander hadn’t been seen since he’d handed her the gun she was ill-equipped to use.
“Put that fucking gun down!” Lincoln roared.
The gunman pulled Bella directly in front of him. “Shoot me!” he dared.
Lincoln raised his gun to eye level. It appeared he was about to call the man’s bluff.
