Glass rained down to the floor as I bear-crawled into the kitchen. I had to get to Sloane. I had to get to her before Chops did. But, the ear-piercing shout of a woman echoed in time with the emergency exit door alarm and caught my attention.
Maybe that means Sloane and Beth made it out.
I rolled onto my back long enough to see one of those Black Flags idiots shimmying his way through a shattered window. The poor woman sobbed into the top of her son’s head as they cowered beneath the table. It was a scene I knew I’d never forget. These selfish, devilish, good-for-nothing motherfucker bastards didn’t give a shit who they had to run over in order to get what they wanted. Even if there were children at stake. Which meant I didn’t give a shit about his life or when it ended.
So, I took aim and shot him right through the top of his head.
I didn’t have enough time to kick the man’s body back through the window, but at least he was no longer a threat. Then, I continued my journey into the kitchen. Once I was through the swinging double doors I leapt to my feet and had my gun on a swivel to make sure no one popped out and clocked me.
There were no windows back here, sure. But, there were plenty of places for those assholes to hide.
And with the emergency exit alarm blaring, that meant the sounds of their movements would be covered up.
“Here, take this,” a man whispered.
I peeked down and watched him hold a glistening silver knife up toward me. The thing was massive. I mean, one good whack with this fucking butcher’s knife could take off anyone’s head. And I was thankful that he had given it to me. I nodded my thanks and gripped the handle, then used the top of my gripping hand to steady my gun as I held it right out in front of me.
I slowly crept toward the emergency exit, hoping to catch Sloane and Beth before anything else happened.
But, when I eased myself through the cracked door, the first thing I saw was Beth’s lifeless body on the ground.
“No, no, no, no,” I murmured.
My eyes darted around before I saw movement in the shadows. There was a massive fucking tree in the middle of the damn desert that sat out in the backyard of his diner, and by some miracle the thing was still living. I wasn’t sure how, and I didn’t care. What I did care about was the fact that it looked like the two shadows were fighting. Possibly wrestling.
Then, as I came down the steps and inched toward Beth’s body, I heard voices.
Sloane and Chops, to be exact.
You won’t take her. I won’t stand for it.
I gave my eyes time to adjust as I aimed my gun at the bigger shadow. I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting Sloane out of there alive. As the wrestling and the fighting mounted, I used their noises to cover my own as I got closer. And when I knew I had Chops in my crosshairs, I continuously pulled the trigger of my gun.
Before I watched that coward of a man hit the deck.
“Bingo,” I murmured.
I saw Sloane dive for something before she scrambled behind the tree trunk and I looked around to see where the hell I could take up my own position. I found two massive dumpsters sitting by the staircase that descended from the emergency exit door and I leapt toward them, scrambling to get inside. The garbage wreaked of day-old cheeseburgers and molded ice cream, and I tried to hold back my gagging as much as I could.
But, the smells didn’t matter once I saw Chops scramble to his feet.
“Oh, no you don’t,” I hissed.
Every time he took a step, I shot. And every time he jumped to get out of the trajectory of my bullet, I grinned. When I emptied my first magazine, it didn’t take me but about three seconds to reload the damned thing. But, when he made his way around the back of the tree trunk, my heart seized in my chest with fear.
Where the hell was Sloane?
“Think you can shoot her before you shoot me, Finn!?” Chops exclaimed.
I watched those two shadows come from around the trunk of the tree as I slowly stood up in the dumpster. He had Sloane in a tight grip by her arm, which was unfortunately connected to the hand with which she held her gun. He dragged her out of the darkness and into the light of the full moon hanging above us and I saw the determination in her eyes.
She was willing to die for her cause.
But, I wasn’t willing to let her.
“I asked you a question!” Chops roared.
So, I made sure to answer as best as I knew how.
I took the knife in my hand and chucked it off to the side, causing enough of a commotion to turn Chops’ eyesight away from me. And the second I had him distracted, I aimed for both of his knees. Two shots, two kneecaps, two blown-out legs; and the second he released Sloane from his grip she whipped around and slammed the butt of her own gun against his temple.
Which sent the man plummeting to the ground completely unconscious while sirens wailed in the distance.
“Finn!” she exclaimed.
I leapt out of the dumpster and sprinted toward her. “Sloane!”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face against my shoulder. “He shot her. She jumped in front of me to protect me and he killed her, Finn. Why did he kill her?”
I held her closely and kissed her repeatedly against the side of her face. “I’ve got you. It’s over. You hear that? The police are on their way.”
She cried against my shoulder. “He shot her. He just… he just shot her like she was nothing.”
I pressed a warm, tender kiss against her temple. “I’m so glad you’re alive. I’m so, so fucking glad you’re okay.”
She choked out her next words. “Where’s–where’s everyone? The–the guys? Tanner!? Summer’s gonna kill me if–.”
I gripped her hair and picked her face up off my shoulder long enough to gaze deeply into her eyes. “Everyone’s okay. We’re all just fine.”
Tears dripped down her face. “Except for Beth. Beth isn’t okay?”
I shook my head softly. “No. But, because of you, she’ll get a proper burial with her family at her side instead of being tossed into a shallow grave without a headstone.”
“Where is he!?” Porter exclaimed.
I pulled Sloane back against my body before I pointed to the unconscious body near the tree. Porter rushed to pick him up just as Brooks came around the corner, and his eyes immediately fell to Beth’s both.
“I’ve got her,” Brooks murmured.
I nodded as I listened to the sound of Porter intentionally dragging Chops’ unconscious body over every rock he could find. I scooped a sobbing Sloane into my arms as we all walked around to the front of the building just as ambulances and fire trucks poured into the parking lot.
And the sirens seemed to snap Sloane out of her trance. At least, for now.
“Medic?” she asked.
The E.M.T. who had taken Chops from Porter looked over at her. “Yeah?”
Sloane left my side and walked over to him. “Detective Sloane, Santa Barbara P.D. I’m working in tandem with your local police department to take down this crew. I need you to make sure this man stays alive, no matter the cost. He’s the only link we’ve got to any of his crimes after he gunned down my only witness.”
The E.M.T. nodded. “Consider it done, Detective.”
And when she turned back toward me, I smiled.
“She’s a hell of a woman,” Archer said as he patted my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I said as Sloane held my gaze, “she sure is.”
Archer patted my back. “Make sure she stays that way after tonight.”
And as Sloane started walking back toward me, I nodded. “Trust me, you don’t have to tell me twice.”
