Chapter 43 #2
“Oh my God, Audrey, are you okay?” Alexis had reached their side, her eyes wider than Audrey had ever seen, her normally tanned skin looking abnormally pale as she looked Audrey over.
She was gripping a hand mixer, batter slowly dripping onto the ground at her side, though she didn’t seem to notice.
“The guys just went running through the bakery, they barely paused, and then they came out here and— What happened?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Mason said grimly, holding tightly to Audrey and looking at Cash rather than her or Alexis. When Audrey lifted her arms to hug him, she realized she was still holding the bag of trash and finally dropped it to the ground.
“I saved her, that’s what happened.” Cash brandished the gun, making Alexis squeak and hide behind Mason, just as Mason shoved Audrey behind him as well. “She was being robbed, and I saved her, not you.”
He sounded… sulky?
“Stop waving that around. Give me that.” Mason strode forward several steps and snatched the gun away from Cash, quicker than Audrey could blink.
“Hey!”
Ignoring Cash’s protest, Mason turned away from him and opened the gun. His shoulders sagged in relief, then his head lifted, and she could see the anger in his eyes when they met hers.
“It’s not loaded,” he said grimly.
Alexis sidled up to Audrey’s side, sliding her arm through Audrey’s so they could lean on each other for support. Audrey sagged with relief.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, though she didn’t understand why he looked so grim.
Just then, there was a commotion at the end of the alley.
Zeus and Aiden had reappeared, dragging the gunman with them.
His hat had been knocked off to reveal light brown hair, and his glasses were askew.
He was fighting them, but he wasn’t getting anywhere.
Zeus had broad shoulders and lean muscle, and Aiden was built like a freaking tank.
Two to one—the guy might as well have been a child for all the good his struggles did him.
“You got him!” Alexis cheered. “I’m calling the cops.” She reached into her pocket to dig out her phone.
“No, don’t!” Cash whirled around, clearly panicked at the idea.
Audrey’s jaw dropped as Alexis froze in place. Mason crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at Cash, and she finally caught on to what he had obviously suspected from the moment he’d appeared.
“You set this up!” Fury rose up inside her, replacing the fear, the utter terror she’d felt. A rage like she’d never known before gripped her, balling her hands into fists, and she took a step toward him. Alexis let her go, but moved forward with her, like she was guarding Audrey. “You knew!”
“I’m pretty sure this is the saboteur your parents hired,” Mason said, nodding at the man who had now reached them, thanks to Zeus and Aiden.
“I’ve done nothing wrong! I was just out for a run when these two whackos attacked me!”
Now that she didn’t have a gun aimed at her face, Audrey realized what a truly terrible actor the man was. If she hadn’t been so freaked out by the gun, his earlier performance would have been as laughable as this one. Since she wasn’t terrified, it was easy to see through his bluster.
Now he was the one freaking out. He was the one shaking in fear.
Good.
Satisfaction didn’t displace her anger, but it took some of the edge off. Now, it was Cash’s turn.
She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You didn’t know about the brick,” she said. “I believe that. But you can’t tell me you didn’t know about this.”
Cash scowled at her. Alexis stepped forward, suddenly turned into a protective mama bear rather than her usual shy self.
“Talk!” she barked at him, holding the mixer out in front of her. “Or I’ll use this on your balls.”
“Okay!” Cash stepped back, holding his hands up in front of him in a gesture of surrender.
The hired hand looked appalled as he crossed his legs, shrinking between Aiden and Zeus, obviously trying not to be noticed by her.
Aiden looked torn between horrified and intrigued as he looked at Alexis, while Mason appeared surprised.
Audrey had never heard Alexis sound like that, which meant he hadn’t either.
Only Zeus’ expression didn’t change, though he did blink and focus on Alexis for a long moment.
“I… the gun wasn’t even loaded, okay? It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s not a big deal?” Audrey repeated slowly. “It’s not a big deal. I didn’t know that it wasn’t loaded. I thought I was going to die. But it’s not a big deal.”
Cash eyed her nervously.
“I mean, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant… it was your parents’ idea!”
Somehow, she’d already known that, but hearing it out loud sent all the air rushing out of her lungs. It was worse than being punched in the gut. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Like she might fall over.
Mason and Alexis were there immediately on either side of her, propping her up.
“It’s okay, sweetness,” Mason murmured. “We’ll figure it out.”
But it wasn’t okay. None of it was. How could it be?