Chapter 22 Margot
MARGOT
I burst out of the closet I sat in and rushed down the hallway.
Hard left, sprint. First left, pause. I poised my gun at the moving shadows, ready to shoot the second I saw who the hell I was aiming at.
I heard Sutton struggling. I heard her yelp.
Something crashed into the wall before the shadowy figure emerged, bathing himself and that fucking black suit of his in the limelight.
And the face looked very familiar.
“Ah, and so we meet again,” the man said.
Holy shit.
The man choking out Piper from the hospital had Sutton by the hair.
“Let her go,” I said, aiming my shaking gun at him.
“Nah, I think not,” he said, grinning.
He pulled out his gun and started shooting as he tugged Sutton down the hallway. I ducked back around the corner, watching bullets whiz by as horror filled my body. I had to save Sutton. I had to do this. I had to calm myself down long enough to do this right.
“I’ve got you, Sutton,” I murmured.
Then, the two of them emerged into the main hallway.
I jumped back and took aim with my gun, shutting off the part of my mind that screamed at me to stop.
To quit hurting people. To stop going against everything I was taught in medical school.
I aimed for the man’s leg as he tugged Sutton down the hallway, listening as she screamed and cried out.
She yelled for Cage. She yelled for me to run.
She yelled for me to get the hell away as the man kept shooting rounds down the hallway, hoping to hit me even as Sutton tried knocking him off-balance.
Then, I drew in a deep breath.
I took aim at his leg and pulled the trigger.
One round. Then, two. And all of them missed.
I grit my teeth together as I took a small step forward, dipping down onto one knee.
My entire body trembled. I couldn't keep the gun still.
I couldn't stop my mind from racing as I emptied the magazine down the damn hallway trying to hit this fucker.
And when I went to reach in my back pocket for another magazine, they weren’t there.
Holy fuck, they’re on the ground down the hallway.
The man laughed at me as I dropped the small handgun. I slid the gun around my body until it faced the front, then searched desperately for how to use the fucking semi-automatic weapon. Sutton’s cries moved further away as I inched myself down the hallway as tears rushed my eyes.
She’s going to die if you don’t do something.
And that was the motivation I needed to get going.
I finally found the damn safety on the gun and flipped it off.
I got up and started walking down the hallway, following the man in the suit as he kept popping off rounds to scare me.
They whizzed by me, creating waves of air I felt on my arms. Against my neck.
Beside my head. And while I was scared shitless, I was also determined to make sure Sutton was safe.
Even if it meant me getting hurt in the process.
I cocked the gun and took aim, pulling the trigger repeatedly.
Once. Twice. Three times. Four. I emptied it down the damn hallway as they turned a corner, then I took off running.
I was shit at firing under pressure. But if the man had to keep himself turned around to fire at me, then maybe one of the guys would intercept us.
I rushed around the corner and took aim again, firing as the man stopped to reload.
But, no matter what I did, I couldn't land a single fucking bullet in this man.
“Margot. Run!” Sutton exclaimed.
“Not on your life,” I murmured.
“‘Atta, girl,” Bear said.
And the shock of hearing his voice stopped me in my tracks.
One gunshot from him was all it took. Bear wrapped his arm around me, pulling me back toward his body as he leveled the gun out in front of us.
One pull of the trigger sent a bullet flying through the air, and it sank heartily into the man’s leg.
My head whipped up and I saw determination in his eyes.
A muted confidence in his face. He popped off bullets like it was nothing, and every single one of them sank into that man.
He cried out and Sutton scrambled for us.
I whipped my head back over, watching as the man caved to his knees.
He fell forward, his eyes dead and his hands limp.
And as he toppled to the floor, I held my arms out for Sutton.
Who rushed into my embrace and sobbed against my shoulder.
“Come on, we need to get out of here,” I said.
“This way, girls. Follow me,” Bear said.
I dragged Sutton along, listening to her sobs as I tried comforting her.
I still trembled from head to toe. Still riled up from what had just happened.
We followed Bear up and down the winding hallways, picking up my handgun and rushing back down the hallway to grab those magazines.
I ejected the one the gun had and stuffed another one in.
I tucked the other two magazines in my back pockets before we made our way through the warehouse.
“You girls stay right here. I’m going to clear the last hallway before we make a break for the front door,” Bear said.
But he didn’t take four steps away from us before Sutton was ripped from my arms.
“No!” I roared.
Sutton screeched as another man came out of nowhere.
He had her in his arms, lifting her up and running down the hallway with her.
He stopped long enough to pop off three bullets my way, which sent Bear rushing to my side.
I ducked down, covering my head with my hands.
He picked me up and rushed me around the corner for cover.
Try as I might, though, I wasn’t staying there.
“We have to go get her,” I said.
“We have to get you out of here. Let the guys worry about—”
“No!” I roared.
I ripped away Bear’s embrace and stared up at him with fiery eyes. Sutton screamed for us. Screamed for help. Screamed for Cage as the man dragged her away. I looked around the room, trying to find anything I could use to blockade the front door. Forcing them on a longer journey toward the garage.
But there was nothing.
Nothing other than Bear to blockade it.
“Look, I’m going after her whether you like it or not,” I said.
“Margot, the vans are ready. All we have to do is—”
“No. I’m not leaving her.”
“You need to worry about your safety first. I’ll get Sutton. I promise you that.”
“Then, I’m getting her with you. At your side. But you’re not shoving me into a van with a bunch of whining, crying kids and their scared mothers while the only woman in this place who’s made me feel worth a shit is dragged away to be killed,” I said.
I lifted my handgun and cocked it, my eyes never leaving Bear’s.
“So, what’s it gonna be? Are we going to fight yet again? Or are you going to have my back on this one?” I asked.
And when I saw Bear grin, I knew I had him.
“When the hell did you get so tough?” he asked, interchanging his magazine.
“Since I started dating you. Takes guts to deal with you on a regular basis,” I said.
“Oh, ho ho. If I didn’t have such a cold heart, I’d say that hurt.”
I gripped Bear’s shirt and pulled him toward me, crashing our lips together. I pushed my tongue through, tasting him one last time just in case this all went sideways. Bear wrapped his arms around my back, picking me up and deepening our kiss.
Then, Sutton’s cries pierced the air.
“Let’s go get her,” I murmured.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” he said.
He set me back down onto my feet and I held my gun in the air.
I supported my wrist as I turned the corner of the hallway the man yanked Sutton down, and I tuned into her cries.
She was further away than I wanted her to be, but it wasn’t like I couldn't track her.
I felt Bear behind me, his gun leveled above my head.
Keeping a look out as I traveled slowly down the hallway.
We cleared every corner, trying not to shoot unless we absolutely had to.
“That’s a dead end, don’t go down there.”
“Stop for magazines. We’ll need more ammo in case we meet more men.”
“They aren’t going for the front door. The only other exit they’ve got is the garage.”
“Wait a second. There’s an exit in the basement.”
“Margot, I know where he’s going.”
Bear gripped my arm and yanked me down a hallway.
And the more we traveled down that hallway, the more Sutton’s cries grew.
I heard her sobbing, her voice growing hoarse.
And I prayed her voice didn’t give out while Bear and I tried to track her down.
Muffled voices called out as Bear pulled his intercom out of his ear.
We crept around in the darkness, keeping our eyes peeled for any sort of movement.
Then, we got to the top of the basement steps.
“Stop struggling, you bitch,” the man growled.
I heard a crack before Sutton groaned, and I almost leapt down those stairs. Bear was the only reason I didn’t. He fisted the back of my shirt, pulling me back and telling me with his eyes to keep a cool head on my shoulders.
“We only get him if we do this right,” he murmured.
Then, I pulled in a deep breath before we slowly started down the dark basement steps.