Grayson
Frank leans back on his chair, a smug grin plastered on his face. His two guards stand like statues, guns trained on us. Luciano and I are slightly outnumbered, but we’re not about to let that stop us. Frank’s eyes flick between us, amusement playing on the corners of his mouth. “You’ve got some balls, I’ll give you that– walking in here, making demands.” He laughs. Luciano stands to my right, his posture is relaxed but I can feel him ready to strike. Just waiting for the right moment. “We’re not here to make demands,” he says smoothly. “We’re here to end this.”
Frank chuckles. “End this huh? You think you boys are walking out of here alive?”
My gaze locks onto Frank, my jaw tight. “That’s exactly what we think.” The weight of the gun at my side is comforting, but I keep my hands loose to avoid triggering his guards .
The bodyguard in front of me shifts slightly, his finger twitching on the trigger. I can see the tension in his stance, the readiness to pull the trigger at any moment. Frank notices too, his grin widening. “It’s over. You walked into the lion's den-”
A single gunshot echoes through the large room, cutting off Frank’s words. For a split second, time seems to slow. The guard in front of me jerks, his eyes widening as a red bloom spreads across his chest. He crumples to the ground, and all hell breaks loose.
“Now!” Luciano barks, and I’m already moving.
I draw my gun in one fluid motion, firing at the next guard before he has a chance to react. My shot hits home and he goes down with a grunt, clutching his side as blood pools beneath him. Frank fumbles with his gun, panic written all over his face. He barely gets off a shot before Luciano puts him down, a clean shot to the head. We both turn in sync with our guns drawn as we hear the click of heels against the cement floor.
As soon as I see her, my gun falls from my hands. “Rowan? What the fuck are you doing here?” I snap.
“I believe you meant to say ‘thank you’. I came to help, looks like I did.”
“You fucking shot that guard? What the fuck is wrong with you? You call that help? You put yourself in the middle of a goddamn shootout, Rowan, you could have been killed!” I feel heat rising to my cheeks.
“Hold up,” Luciano interrupts, with a sly grin on his face. “How did you get such a clean shot?!” He starts laughing and high-fives her like this shits funny.
“Sniper scope, I was right up there.” She points to the pipe work on the high ceiling of the unfinished building.
“So you came down here and didn’t even bring it with you just in case, real fuckin’ smart, Rowan.”
She shoots me a scowl. “I was helping you because I knew my dad wouldn’t be dumb enough to not have protection, unlike you,” she looks over at Luciano. “No offense.” Luciano smiles and shakes his head at her comment.
My eyes lock onto Luciano. “ You shouldn’t have killed Frank right away, I had plans for him,” I look back over at Rowan, my jaw tightening. “And you – you shouldn’t even fuckin’ be here.”
She crosses her arms, smirking at me. “I thought we could be Bonnie and Clyde .” Her and her fucking jokes.
“I know everything is one big joke to you, Rowan. But this isn’t the fucking time! What if one of those bastards fucking shot you? I didn’t know you were up there, what if they noticed you and fucking shot you, Row?” I feel the rage clawing at the inside of my chest, a mix of fear and anger.
Her expression softens and turns almost– embarrassed. “I’m not a delicate little flower, –”
I grab her shoulders, and tower over her. “You’re my wife , Rowan, and that means I can’t afford to lose you. That means my one job is to protect you and I can’t do that when you do dumb shit like this!”
“–”
“No, listen to me. I can handle Frank and his goons but I can’t handle losing you.”
The rage drains out of me as she stares up at me with innocent eyes, leaving behind a raw, aching fear. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stand by knowing your life was at risk.” She says quietly.
I pull her into me, resting my chin on her head. “No, Rowan. I’m sorry for making you feel like you had to do this.”
“Awe look at that! My boy has a heart.” Luciano interrupts the moment with his condescending tone. “Let’s get the hell out of here and grab a celebratory drink.” He suggests .
“Fine. But you’re buying for stealing my kill.” I look over at Rowan and see how uneasy my comment made her. Oh well. It’s what she gets for coming along for a ride she’s not ready for.
“So, uh– how’d you know where we were at?” I ask.
She smiles over at me as we exit the building. “I used Find My Iphone.” Smart girl. Stupid move.
“No more stunts like this.” I say coldly.
“I know I’ve been gone for a while but– are you two, like, together now?” Luciano cuts in.
“I’ll let you know when you want to tell me a little somethin’ about you and Deirdra.” I toss back, a half smile quirking my lips.