Chapter Forty-Five
Sadie
The guns swing from my dog to Ace, who doesn’t flinch. He ignores the barrels pointed at him, locking his attention on Evelyn and the man holding her. His expression is sculpted by fury.
“Let her go,” he demands.
The Fiver doesn’t respond.
“You’re outnumbered,” Bowie says, his lips tipped into an amused grin.
In a blink, Ace repositions his gun, aims, and pulls the trigger twice.
In sync, two bodies hit the floor, leaving only Bowie and two other Fivers still standing.
Bowie’s gun is tucked in his pants, and one of the Fivers is holding Evelyn, so there’s only one still pointing a weapon at Ace.
As if just now registering what happened, the third Fiver pulls the trigger, but Ace was already moving, so the bullet lodges into the wall behind him.
In my arms, Soot fights to either attack or flee, and a fear unlike any I’ve ever known fills my muscles with enough strength to keep him still.
“You’re still outnumbered.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Skins?”
The third one re-aims, and both he and Ace pull their triggers.
And both hit their marks. The Fiver hits the floor with a pained exclamation, blood pouring from a hole in his pants on the outside of the thigh. Ace lets out a grunt, barely wobbling where he stands even as I notice red spreading across his shirt on the side, above his hip bone.
“Ace!” Ev yells.
“Be quiet, pouláki.” His words are simultaneously soft and have a bite to them.
Bowie regards Ace with obvious annoyance. “You’re not a Saint.”
No reply.
“Why don’t you turn around and leave, before things get worse. You don’t need to die for people who wouldn’t die for you.”
I haven’t known Ace, or really any of the Saints, for long, but something tells me most of them would die for him. Especially Theo.
“I do not run,” is his straightforward reply.
“Is it running or is it being smart?”
Disregarding Bowie, Ace levels all his attention on the Fiver holding Ev. “Let her go.”
“Fuck you.”
“Now.”
“We are not here for her or you,” Bowie says. “You can take her and leave our business to us.”
Ace considers it. As much as I want him to save me, too, I would be grateful to at least know Evelyn makes it out of this alive. If he could save Soot, too, then I would gladly let Bowie take me.
His lips roll together. “The dog too.”
“No,” Bowie says. “The extra girl and your life. That’s more than generous.”
“It’s okay, Ace,” I say. “Just get Ev out of here.”
Evelyn shouts, “No!” but no one else even acknowledges that I spoke.
Ace gives the gang leader a scowl that gives James’s perpetual glower a run for its money. Still, he says, “Fine.”
My heart drops. I should be relieved for Ev, but fear clamps down so hard there’s no room for anything else.
“Lower the gun.”
“The girl first,” Ace says.
“No, Ace!” Ev yells.
Bowie nods to the man holding Ev, who shoves her in Ace’s direction. Ace grabs Ev with a free hand, keeping the gun raised with the other. He roughly pulls her behind him so she’s blocked by his body. She slams her fists on his back, but he acts as if he can’t feel it.
“Go, now,” Bowie says.
Ace lets the barrel of his gun dip down but doesn't lower his arm. With one hand still behind him to hold Ev, he starts to back up toward the open door.
“No!” Ev screams.
“Quiet,” Ace says.
“If you do this, I’ll never forgive you!” she shouts, trying to push past him.
“Go, Evelyn! It’ll be okay,” I say.
“Listen to your friend, pouláki.”
“Fuck you, Actaeon!”
They cross the threshold, and right before they reach the steps, he turns and pushes her forward, running away from the house.
My body goes numb.
That’s it.
Ev is okay.
But I won’t ever be again. And Soot…
“See? That’s how your precious Saints see women. They’re all disposable except the ones they care about.”
“He’s not a Saint,” I spit.
“So, where are your precious Saints? He’s who they deigned to send to your rescue, and he couldn’t give a shit about you or your dog.”
Soot growls as if knowing he’s being discussed.
My eyes burn. “Do what you want to me. But let my dog go.”
“Did you ever ask your precious boyfriend about what happened eight and a half years ago?”
“You mean what happened with his father? But sure, taking your revenge out on me and June makes complete sense.”
“He sent his daughter to manipulate my men. Then he killed my boy. And your psychopathic friend killed one of mine. Tell me how what I’m doing is unreasonable.”
“You killed a three year old girl.”
Bowie rolls his eyes. “Are we done with that yet?”
“Sorry if I can’t quite get over the needless death of a child.”
“If it helps, she died fast. She didn’t suffer.”
“Doesn’t help.” Soot growls again.
“Shut the dog up.”
“Please, just let him go.” I’m not above begging. Not for my dog.
“You may have learned this about me if you hadn’t walked out during our second date, but I fucking hate dogs.”
Before he can say anything else or reach for his gun, a sound comes from behind me, and a split second later, another gunshot reverberates through the house.
Soot jumps, letting out another menacing grow.
The man who had been holding Evelyn joins the other bodies on the floor, but he’s still breathing, the bullet having landed in his shoulder.
Then there’s another gunshot and he’s dead, a giant hole torn through the back of his skull.
Blood sprays onto the side of my face, along with chunks of a substance I’d prefer to never know the name of.
Shouting. Screams. Barking.
I twist around and see Ace holding his gun with two hands, the barrel now trained on Bowie.
“What the FUCK!” Bowie has his weapon free now, the two men staring each other down.
“The girl and the dog. Now,” Ace says.
“You stupid fuck.”
“I won’t ask again. Let them go.”
“Never.”
Both men pull the trigger.
Both men go down.
Then the front door swings open.