Chapter 19 #3
“That’s right, asshole. If you or your friends try to tackle me again, we all go boom.
If you shoot me and I fall over, we go boom.
If I even bend over at the waist too far, we fucking all go boom.
So…now that I have your attention, and we know who the fuck is in charge here,” he glared at Jag and Pid, who’d stood from behind the bar, “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
The two SEALs looked extremely pissed, but they did as Shawn ordered.
It was now only Shawn, Kenna, Marshall, Paulo, and Kaleen left in the restaurant, as far as she could tell.
At least, if her coworkers had fled, they’d done so without standing.
She hoped they did—and that they’d hit the silent alarm to summon police on their way out.
Everyone else had fled onto the dark beach, into the storm, or through the front entrance of Duke’s.
Shawn kept his tight grip on Kenna’s biceps as he walked toward Marshall.
Kenna could see a muscle in her man’s jaw ticking, his hands fisted tight, but otherwise, he stood stock still.
Shawn stopped just out of Marshall’s reach and raised the pistol once more.
Kenna’s heart flew to her throat and she almost stopped breathing.
Instead of killing Marshall right then and there, it seemed Shawn was in a chatty mood. “Just as I thought…you’re not as tough as you think you are,” Shawn smirked.
Kenna saw something flash through Marshall’s eyes at the words—she could’ve sworn it was respect. But that had to be a trick of the light.
Or Marshall was just fucking with Shawn until he could find a way to take him out.
“Good job. I had no idea you’d left that note on my Jeep. How’d you get into the military parking lot? It’s strictly monitored.”
Kenna’s mind whirled. Note? He’d gotten a note too?!
“The military sticker on my car. I’ve done some work on base,” Shawn told him. “Who’d you think the note was from?”
Kenna felt as if she was in the twilight zone. If Shawn wasn’t holding a gun on Marshall, and if he didn’t have a freaking bomb strapped to his body, she might’ve thought the two men were old buddies catching up after some time apart.
“There’s a guy on base who’s been a pain in my ass for a while,” Marshall answered, seemingly unfazed by the fact he was looking down the barrel of a gun. “He said almost those exact words to me not too long ago. Figured he was still messing with me.”
Shawn laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. It was one of deep satisfaction.
“What about your note?” he asked, shaking Kenna. “Did it make you wanna shit your pants?”
“No,” she said with more bravado than she really felt.
“Fucking liar. All bitches lie,” Shawn seethed, shaking her even harder, his grip painful.
Kenna knew she was going to have some pretty damn vivid bruises in the next week or so…if she lived that long. Her arm throbbed where Shawn held it, and once more she tried to wrench herself out of his grip, but he simply laughed.
Kenna had already been terrified enough by this point, but the crazy look on Shawn’s face made her blood run cold.
She could hear sirens now, and she prayed the police would hurry.
But at the same time, she worried about what they’d do.
If they didn’t know about the bomb, they might try to take Shawn out. And if he fell, that bomb would go off.
Shit!
Shawn began walking backward without warning, the gun at her temple once more, and Kenna almost tripped as she was yanked along with him.
“I was just gonna take what belonged to me and go,” Shawn informed them. “But that fucking bitch ruined everything, like usual. I know she was here earlier. I’ve been watching and waiting for all three of you to be in the same place.”
“What were you going to do?” Marshall asked, stepping forward, following slowly as Shawn headed for the exit that led out onto the beach.
The wind had really picked up, howling outside the flimsy plastic windows Kenna had zipped into place.
Rain was falling in heavy sheets. In fact, she couldn’t even see the shoreline, and the ocean wasn’t that far from the restaurant.
“Take what belongs to me after killing you and this meddling whore,” Shawn said without hesitation.
Kenna quaked. God, this was a nightmare.
“And now?” Marshall asked.
“I still want Carly,” Shawn said. “I want what’s mine.” He shook Kenna yet again, making her stumble. “But I’ll make do with this bitch until I can get her back.”
“Not happening,” Marshall said in that deadly tone.
Shawn laughed. “Sorry, SEAL boy. It is. It’s all planned out, and you can’t do a goddamn thing about it.
Once we’re gone, you’ll just have to suffer thinking about what I’m doing to your fuck hole.
Wonder if she’s scared, if she’s in pain.
And I’ll tell you right now—she will be.
She’ll regret sticking her goddamn nose into my business—just like you will. ”
Then Shawn swung the pistol toward Marshall.
Kenna acted on instinct the second his arm moved. She slammed her free hand against the underside of his arm as hard as she could, shoving it up just as he pulled the trigger.
Marshall was already leaping to the side, crashing into a chair that was in his way.
Shawn punched Kenna in the face with the pistol, making her cry out as pain bloomed in her temple. She felt blood oozing down the side of her face, but she didn’t fall.
Throughout it all, he never let go of her arm. The sirens wailed, much closer now, and Shawn didn’t wait for Marshall to get back up. He walked backward again, much faster this time, obviously trying to get out of there before the police showed up—which Kenna hoped would be any second.
“Time to go,” Shawn growled.
Kenna had no idea if he was talking to her or Marshall, but ultimately it didn’t matter.
She didn’t know where they were going. It wasn’t like they could just take a stroll down the beach and blend in with the nonexistent crowd.
It felt and sounded like a damn hurricane was going on and everyone had sought shelter. But Shawn obviously had a getaway plan.
Kenna just prayed that somehow, someway, she’d be able to escape before his plan succeeded.