“You want to die right here, bitch? I don’t care, I’ll get paid either way. Get in the car,” he demands again, shoving against me harder. I couldn’t even if I wanted to with him pinning me to the door. His words about being paid either way register, but now’s not the right time to demand answers.
“You have to back up if you want me to move,” I tell him reasonably. The moment he lets up, I jerk my gun down. The weight of it in my hand has never been more welcome. I slide my hand across my chest and point the barrel into his soft stomach.
He pulls back, I’m sure to see what’s jabbing him, and I spin around slowly with the gun still shoved up under his ribs. He’s gaping like he can’t fathom what’s happening, but his arms are already starting to lift in surrender while still clutching my bag.
“Who’s paying you?”
WINGER
I’m not surprised to see Maxine walking down the block, since Saddle warned me that she was leaving. However, the guy who crossed the street to walk several paces behind her does catch me off guard. Is she meeting a contact?
I keep to the shadows of the buildings and track them. She never once looks over her shoulder, but she is checking out the people who pass her, so I can’t tell if she’s oblivious to him or pretending to be.
He rushes her when she reaches her car, slamming into her back and pinning her to the door. My gut instinct tells me to put a blade to the guy’s throat and find out what the fuck he’s doing, but I hold off. Maybe this is normal for them. Maybe she’s a reluctant participant. Honestly, I’m just making excuses for her and validating why it would be okay for her to spy on me.
When he jerks her purse over her head, clipping her chin in the process, I’m pretty sure he’s robbing her.
She spins as I run over, facing down the guy who slowly lifts his hands in the air while taking a small step away. It takes me a second to realize she has a gun pointed at his stomach. I’m close enough to see her face dimly lit by the streetlamps. There’s not an ounce of fear in her features. She’s utterly calm, but the sneer of her lip suggests she’s fucking pissed off or maybe disgusted. She has to look up to glare into his face. He takes another step back, but she extends her arm, keeping the gun pressed against him.
She looks like she’s going to kill him, and I have no desire to stop her, even though it could bring the cops around. It’s not like I couldn’t make them go away, but that’s a hassle in itself.
I shift to the side, allowing her to see me, which prompts her to take her eyes off the man in front of her long enough for him to try to take advantage of her distraction by slamming his fist into her.
She bends forward at the waist, and he takes off running. The gunshot echoes off the nearby buildings, and someone screams. The man drops twenty feet from her car, dead from the bullet I just put in his head.
I turn my focus to the girl, my gun still raised because I don’t know what she’s going to do, but she’s not concerned with me at all. She’s looking down at the hand she just pulled away from her lower stomach. Her fingers look black, but it’s only because she’s blocking most of the light.
“He fucking stabbed me,” she says, then collapses in a heap.
“Son of a bitch.” I waste precious seconds putting my gun away before rushing to her side to check her pulse. With my phone held between my shoulder and ear, I start to bark, “Where’s your sister?”
“Probably home. Is it a gunshot?” Masher pants as if he’s already running. I should have known the gunfire would bring him in my direction.
“No, abdominal stab wound. Tell her to get to the place on Bagley right now. Get someone to the lot on Temple to clean up.”
“Shit, I’m going the wrong way.” Masher huffs. “Do you need transport?”
I glance at the Toyota, then scan the area for her bag, spotting it just a few feet away. “No, get your sister there.”
I let the phone slip from my ear as I reach for her purse. The damn thing is nearly empty besides the small set of keys and a wallet, leaving enough room for me to shove her gun inside.
She jolts awake, fighting like a hellcat when I try to slide my hands under her. “Keep it up and you’ll bleed out.” She freezes and blinks up at me. “I’m trying to get you help.”
She attempts to sit up on her own, but her eyes roll back in her head. This time, when I slide my arms underneath her to lift her up, she allows it, wrapping her arm around my neck to help. When I reach the passenger door of her car, I pause. I should have opened it up first.
“Set me down, I got it,” she offers through gritted teeth.
I slowly lower her without any other options, then shift to the left, pulling my gun at the same time when I hear running footsteps approaching. “Shit, it’s the girl,” Masher remarks as he skids to a halt, unbothered that I’m pointing my gun at him.
“Where’s the doctor?” I put my gun away now that he’s here for cover, then use the key fob to unlock the door while propping her up.
“On the way, she’s fifteen minutes out.”
“You don’t deserve her,” Maxine sneers at Masher. I look between the two of them, wondering what the fuck I’m missing.
Masher tilts his head, seeming just as confused as I am.
“Do you know him?” I stop short of putting her in the car.
