“You had to be there, Liam. But where…” Owen trailed off. There was confusion in his voice, like he couldn’t make sense of it, but it had already dawned on me.
There was only one place he could have been.
“You guys are crazy,” Liam laughed, but took a step out from behind the table, his eyes flickering to the door.
Owen caught it too and moved to block his way.
Liam’s face turned serious, and he balled his fists.
Pain twisted in my gut. I could see it on his face now. My suspicions were right.
Gods, no! It can’t be!
Liam put his hands up. “Beck, let’s just take a minute to think, okay?”
Owen moved towards Liam, and in a move so quick I didn’t catch it, Liam had his gun pointed at Owen.
“Liam!” I gasped, instinctively stepping towards him, my hands reached out, the bottle of vodka shattering on the floor. “What are you doing?”
“Stay back, Ava. I don’t want to hurt you.” There was pain in his voice and on his face, his hands shaking around the gun.
I struggled to keep my thoughts straight as my world tilted on its axis.Not Liam. He wouldn’t betray Owen like this.
But he had a gun pointed at Owen’s head.
“You were the other shooter. You were on that roof with Hunter,” I said, shock shaking my voice.
Liam stayed quiet.
“You?” Owen breathed, finally realising what had been eating away at my gut. He snapped his eyes shut and turned his face from Liam, his jaw clenching.
“Liam, please. Put the gun down,” I whispered, my chin trembling.
Liam pulled in a ragged breath. “I’m sorry, Ava. I can’t do that.”
I quietly pulled my phone from my back pocket and pressed what I hoped was the speed dial button for Syntax from behind my back.
“Then what, Taylor? You’re going to shoot us? Is that it?” Owen’s voice dripped with sarcasm, fuelled by the betrayal written all over his face.
“No. Just let me walk out of here, okay? No one needs to get hurt.” Liam took another step to the door, but Owen stayed put, blocking the exit.
They stared at one another for a few seconds, then Owen lunged. Liam flung his gun across the room before Owen collided with him. They wrestled on the ground, but I ignored it. I ran for Owen’s gun that he’d discarded on the coffee table earlier in the evening. I plucked it from the holster and flipped the safety off before aiming it at the radio still blaring music. The shot rang loudly through the air and Liam and Owen broke apart.
It was deathly quiet as I lifted the gun and pointed it at Liam, at my friend. “On yourfuckingknees, Taylor,” I spat as tears streamed down my face.
Liam’s head sagged forward in defeat, but he pushed off the floor with his fists and sat on his haunches. I picked up Owen’s cuffs from the coffee table and threw it to him. Owen jerked Liam’s hands behind his back.
“I’m sorry, Beck. I’m sorry,” Liam whispered to him, but Owen’s jaw was set in a hard line. He didn’t bother to answer him as the police sirens stopped in front of the apartment.
Ava
Theboardroomhadgonequiet as Owen explained what had happened an hour earlier. The shock that one of our own had been one of the people we had worked so hard to catch, had rippled through the room, leaving everyone stunned into silence.
Emerie was the first to talk. “God-fucking-damn it! We’re completely screwed! He knows everything we do. This investigation is fucked! Those fuckers know everything!”
Marshall frowned, rubbing his jaw. “Maybe not everything. He wasn’t in the boardroom when we got the Collector’s invite. Have any of you mentioned it to him?”
We all shook our heads, but Owen just stared at a notch in the wooden table.
