The door opens and I hear footsteps running into the room. When they step into the light I gasp. It’s Brian and the guys. “Where is the fucking light?”
“This is no good, brother.” I think I hear Mason’s voice but I can’t be sure.
“No shit, but she is here.” I want to scream that I’m right here. I want to yell for him to run, I know the other men are in here. He’s walking into a trap.
“What are we doing, Brian?” I can’t figure outse voice yells next.
“I don’t fucking know! We need to find her!” Brian’s voice is panicked as he frantically tries to scan the darkness around him.
“If only that was all you needed to worry about.” It’s that voice again. The light above me turns on but again it’s only a small circle and everything behind me is still shrouded in darkness. They move to come to me but freeze. Their eyes are trained on something behind me and when I turn around I see the shadows of at least a dozen men. There isn’t much light behind me so I can’t see their faces. The one behind me has a gun pointed directly at my head.
“Take one fucking step and you’ll be covered in her.”
Brian looks at me and I want to cry. He looks frantic, and his body is so tight with tension that it seems like his muscles might snap at any moment. The rest of the guys are all standing behind him guns in hand but frozen in the same state.
“Drop your guns or I’ll drop her.” The voice seethes with hate and violence. I look back needing to see his face. Put an image to the monster standing behind me. I can only see half of it though and it is covered in scars from what I assume is a really bad burn.
“Who the fuck are you?” I turn my attention back to Brian as his voice fills the room. “She brought you the money that asshole owed you. Let her the fuck go.”
“See it might have been that simple if you and I didn’t have some unfinished business.” I have so many questions running through my head. How does Brian know him? How did he know about the money Dan owed? How did he find me?
“Listen, I don’t know what the fuck you are talking about. I have never gotten involved with this organization and I—“
The figured steps forward so he is next to me and now fully engulfed in the light. Brian stops mid-sentence a look of disbelief and fear on his face. He is looking at the man next to me like he knows him. “What’s wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost, son.”
Son? Brian said his dad died in a fire. Oh my God. I look up at the man and his partially burned face. This can’t be real. I remember all of the stories Brian used to tell about his dad. The way he beat him. When I look back at Brian, I swear I see a glimpse of a scared child.
“How the fuck are you alive?” he almost whispers in disbelief.
“Brian, what the fuck is going on?” Ryan says from behind him.
“Ah, the cop. You know Brian at least when I told your bitch not to go to the police she fucking listened.” He raises his gun and quickly fires a shot. Ryan falls to the floor and I scream. Mason drops down to Ryan, strips his shirt off and holds it against his body.
The other guys draw their guns once more and point them at Brian’s dad. He trains his gun on me once more. As I hear multiple clicks behind me. “Go ahead and shoot, pussies, one of us will hit her in the head.”
“Put the fucking guns down!” Brian yells as he looks at me with a tormented expression on his face.
“What the fuck is going on!” Jake yells next to him.
“What’s going on is my son thought I was dead, and that he got away with murder.” Murder?
“What is he talking about, Brian?” Hunter asks behind him.
“You thought you won, you little shit, but you will never win against me. I told you that a thousand times. You are nothing compared to me. I have been waiting five years for you to find something that you cared about just so I could rip it the fuck away from you. Unfortunately, the first time you and your little slut were together I didn’t have the connections I do now. When you got involved with her again, it was like fucking Christmas.” He leans down his hand gripping a chunk of my hair and pulling me to my feet. “I’ll be nice and give you a choice. Do you want her or your friends to die first?”
I can see Brian’s chest rising and falling. His eyes are boring into his father’s. “You need to get your fucking hands off of her.”
“You may have all these dip shits fooled but I know you’re still the same little bitch you were when you were younger. Now…” His fist tightens in my hair and I scream. “Who. Goes. First?” Tears start to fall from my eyes as I take in the sight of the men before me. They came here to save me from a stupid decision I made, and now I’ve possibly led them to their death.
“Let her go, fucker.” Brian takes a step forward and the barrel of the gun is pressed into my temple. Pain shoots through my head eliciting another scream.
“Back the fuck off.” Brian begrudgingly takes a step back. “Now like I said you can choose if you want. If not I’ll pick for you. 5…4…3…2…1…” A laugh sounds before a gunshot rings out and I drop to the floor.
I curl into the fetal position not wanting to look up to see what happened. I feel arms circle me and I scream and kick. “Jules, it’s me stop.” Brian’s voice pleads with me and I freeze. His hands undo the material holding my wrists together and when I turn toward him he grips the end of the tape. “This is gonna hurt.” He yanks the tape off and I yelp.
“Get up.” A voice demands.
Brian stands his hands on my waist helping me up with him. Once I’m on my feet he moves me behind him and backs me toward his guys. I look over Brian’s shoulder to see his father lying on the floor blood pouring from a hole in his head.
A man comes out from behind the darkness. It’s the guy in the suit, the one from my office yesterday. “Did you bring the money?” I know he is talking to me but I can’t bring myself to answer.
“She did.” My hands tighten their grip on Brian’s arm.
“I didn’t ask you, now did I? Move.” The man seems so polished and sophisticated, the expensive suit he is wearing is flawless, and his dark hair is slicked back. He talks like he is educated and elicits an air of power.
“No.” Brian’s muscles tense under my hands.
The man raises his gun at Brian’s head. “There are two ways you can move, by using your feet, or by a bullet.”
I step to the side and Brian grips me keeping me in place. I push harder making my way around him. The man looks me up and down before smiling. “So sorry for my ex-associate. He has been with me for five years and this is the first time he has ever done anything to make me doubt his loyalty. I was unaware of his connection to you both.” Connection is putting it lightly. “Now, did you bring the money?”
“Yes.” My voice is barely a whisper. I’m scared out of my mind and completely at the disposal of the man standing in front of me.
“Get it.” I move toward the place I fell when I first came in, but Brian grabs my arm. “Let her go if you know what’s good for you.” Brian’s hand slowly lets my arm go, and I move toward the bag bringing it back to the man. “Is it all here?”
“Yes.” My voice shakes as I answer him.
“As long as you are true to your word, Miss Fisher, then we are done here.” He tosses the bag to a man standing behind him. “I didn’t intend for this to get so…” he looks behind me at Ryan on the floor, “messy.”
Messy? An innocent man is shot and that’s “messy?”
“You are all free to go. I don’t think I need to warn you about the repercussions of opening your mouths.”
He walks away and chaos breaks out around me. The guys pick up Ryan and carry him outside.
“Brian, call 911, tell them that there is an officer down!” Mason shouts his hand still pressing the shirt to what I think is Ryan’s chest.
I want to help, to do something. Everything is just happening so fast and I feel like I can’t breathe. A hand wraps around me and I jump before realizing it’s Brian. He pulls me to him. “Are you okay?” I nod, not finding the words. He takes a deep breath, gives me a kiss on the forehead, and then goes to help the rest of the guys.