Chapter 16
Kiersten
“You can have it all, Drake. Everything. It’s yours. I don’t care. Just please let us go.”
“You’d like that wouldn’t you.” A sinister smile crossed his face. “I let you go, and then, you and your little buddies get your cop friends to come and take me out. That’s not going to happen.”
“Think about that, Drake. Why would I bring the cops here? I wouldn’t want them seeing all this?”
“Oh, you should know I’m too smart to fall for that bullshit. With the kind of money you’re bringing in here, I’m sure you have the cops in your pocket.”
The shooting down the hall suddenly subsided, leaving the entire building enveloped in an eerie silence.
I had no idea if that was a good sign or not.
I prayed the Duggar, Timms, and Widow were still alive, but I had no way to know for sure.
I’d been trying so hard to keep Drake preoccupied, saying anything I could think of to keep him from pulling that trigger and killing Braylon, but I was afraid my time was about to run out.
Out of pure desperation, I tried, “It’s not too late.
We can still do this. We can go into business together. ”
“You’re wrong there, Kiersten. You had your chance.”
“But I didn’t even know what you wanted from me.
” There was still nothing from the back hall.
I couldn’t help but wonder if they were all dead.
I hadn’t seen Widow, Timms, or Duggar since the shooting began, and since they hadn’t come to our rescue, It was impossible not to think the worst, and that chilled me to the bone.
To make matters worse, Braylon wasn’t looking good.
His face was pale, and his clothes were soaked in his blood.
I tried to buy us both some more time by distracting Drake.
“I just don’t understand why you are doing all this.
If you’d just been honest with me and told me what was going on, then I would’ve been more open to having dinner with you. ”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” Drake roared. “From day one, you wanted nothing to do with me. I repulsed you. You thought I was nothing. I could see it in your eyes then, and I can see it in your eyes right now. But I’m here to prove you wrong.”
I thought we were alone until I noticed a strange movement out of the corner of my eye.
There was a shadow or something over by the crumbled wall of the office, but it was too dark outside to really see much of anything.
As much as I wanted to believe it was Widow or one of the others coming to save us, but figured the possibility was slim at best and convinced myself that it was just my crazy imagination.
I turned my attention back to Drake with a defeated sigh.
I was losing ground with him, and I didn’t have a clue how to turn the tables on him.
I kept my voice low and steady as I said, “You’ve already proven me wrong, Drake.
Clearly, there is more to you than I ever knew. ”
“Damn straight there is! I’m...”
Before he could finish his sentence, there was an unexpected roar of gunshots.
I froze as I watched Drake’s eyes widen and his head fall back.
At first, I didn’t know what was happening, but then I saw the blood and I realized he’d been shot—right through his temple.
He stood there like a statue with his eyes locked on mine for an ever-so-brief moment, and then, without warning, his body collapsed to the ground—right next to his partner in crime.
They were both dead. I couldn’t believe it.
One minute Drake and I were talking, and then, the next thing I knew, he was lying dead on the floor—right along with his partner.
Neither Braylon nor I moved. We simply stood there staring at each other in utter dismay.
Neither of us even noticed that Widow and Duggar had walked up.
Duggar sounded like a worried parent as he asked, “You two okay?”
Still in a daze, I nodded and said, “Yeah, I’m fine, but Bray’s hurt. He needs to get to the hospital.”
“I’m okay,” Bray argued. “Right now, I’m more concerned about you.” He lifted his hand up to my face as he said, “You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine, Bray. It’s just a few scratches.” I winced as I studied his seeping wounds. “You, on the other hand, need to get to a doctor and have them check you out.”
“We will, but there are things to take of here first.” Sorrow filled his eyes as he looked over to Jackal. “Is he?”
Tears stung my eyes as I watched Widow go over and kneel down next to Jackal.
Anguish marked his face as he rolled the prospect onto his back.
Widow laid his hand on his brother’s chest, then muttered something under his breath.
My heart was breaking as I told Bray and Widow, “He died trying to protect me.”
“He was a good kid... damn, good kid.”
“Yes, he was.” Widow stood, then stepped back over to us. “He did what he came here to do.”
“Same for Timms,” Duggar announced, causing my heart to drop to my stomach. “He put up a good fight. Even took down one of them as he went down.”
I’d done my best to keep it together, but the second I learned about Timms, the dam broke and I started to cry.
He was like family to me, and I hated that he’d lost his life trying to protect me and the Manor.
I was practically sobbing when the front door swung open, and Grayson and Menace charged inside with Hawk and Lynch following close behind.
Grayson’s eyes were fixed on mine as he made his way through the others and over to me.
He took me in his arms, holding me close in a protective hug. “Tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m better now.” With a sniffle and a quick inhaled breath, I brushed the tears from my cheek. “I can’t believe you came.”
“Of course, I came. No way in hell I wouldn’t.”
I’d never been happier to see him and hugged him even tighter. “Thank God you did. Because I’m not so sure we would’ve gotten through this thing without you.”
“Well, it’s done now. It’s over.”
“I know, but I still can’t believe any of this happened.
” I took a step back and glanced down at Drake’s lifeless body.
I had to fight back the tears as I said, “I thought we were prepared for anything, but it all happened so fast. One minute there was a fire, and then, there was all the shooting. I had no idea what the hell was going on.”
“None of us did.”
Grayson walked over to Jackal, and like Widow had done just moments before, he knelt down beside him and placed his hand on his chest. He whispered a few words, then sighed with a shake of his head.
After several moments, he stood and made his way back over to me.
I looped my arm through his as I whispered, “I’m so sorry about Jackal. ”
“I am, too. He’s gonna be missed.” Grayson brought his hand up to my cheek as he asked, “Are you really okay?”
“I am now.” My voice trembled as I told him, “But earlier, I was a mess. I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified in my whole life... There was a point when I really didn’t think we were going to get out of this thing alive.”
Without responding, Grayson reached over and took me in his arms once more. After several moments, he kissed me on the temple, then stepped back as he looked down at Drake. “You got any idea who this Drake guy is?”
“His name is Drake Coburn. We had a few classes together and he asked me out a couple of times, but I always refused. Other than that, I really don’t know much about him.
” I shrugged. “I didn’t know until tonight that he was a dealer, and I certainly didn’t think he was interested in joining forces with me. ”
“So, this was all about you two joining forces?”
“Yeah, those were his words. Not mine.” I shook my head as I told him, “He’d never mentioned anything about it until he showed up here tonight. I’d always thought the creepy stares and small talk were just because he liked me.”
“Oh, he was definitely into her,” Braylon added. “You could tell that just by the way the asshole was looking at her. Besides, he would’ve just wiped us out and taken things over for himself if he was only interested in the goods.”
“So, this guy is a whack-job?”
“Definitely.” Braylon dropped his head with shame as he continued, “But he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did if I hadn’t fucked up. I’m so sorry about all this.”
“This isn’t your fault, Bray,” I argued. “There’s no way you could’ve known this was going to happen.”
“You’re wrong, Kiersten. This was all on me.” Anguish marked his face as he muttered, “It was my job to watch over things tonight and keep this place safe. I dropped the ball, and we lost....”
“No.” Widow placed his hand on Bray’s shoulder, “This shit is on all of us.”
“But I was the one in charge of the cameras tonight, and I let myself get distracted with...”
His voice trailed off when the rumble of motorcycles pulled his attention to the parking lot. Hawk immediately went over and looked out the window, then announced, “Viper’s here with Shotgun and Doc. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as Hawk stepped outside, Widow turned back to Braylon and said, “Now that he’s here, we need to get with Doc. He can check your wounds and fix you up.”
“What? No. This isn’t something for Doc. Bray’s been shot and lost a lot of blood,” I fussed. “He needs to get the hospital!”
“Yeah, he does, but what’s he gonna say when they ask him what happened? When they ask who shot him?” Widow gave me a scolding look as he continued, “Cause they’re gonna want to know those things. And they’ll want to bring the cops in, and there’ll be an investigation...”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” I looked back over to Braylon as I asked Widow, “But is Doc really going to be able to help him?”
“This isn’t Doc’s first rodeo, Kiersten.” Widow took hold of his upper arm, being careful not to get too close to his wounded shoulder, and led Bray over to the door. Before they walked out, Widow assured me, “Doc will have your boy fixed up in no time.”