Chapter 59
CHURCH
Present day
“Shaw,” Cole gritted from in front of me.
My heart raced wildly as I watched the two approach each other.
Truth was, this was my first meetup with a rival territory.
I had never once been afforded the opportunity to be a frontman.
Never taught the way to conduct business.
It was another bitter thing taken from me.
My gut twisted as everyone stood in silence.
The church halls were eerily silent, the matched pace of their shoes the only sound as they met in the middle.
“Cole.” Shaw smirked as both the men gripped hands. Tension filled and fragile, but a necessity for the truce. Churches were always neutral territory. “I see you brought the harlot.” Shaw’s eyes met mine; a sickly sweet smile graced his lips. Cole tensed, and both sides readied to pull weapons.
“That’s my wife,” Cole’s voice darkened as the men still had firmly grasped hands. Anxiety crawled through me as I waited. Clif and Jasper were only a few feet ahead of me, but I saw the dagger’d look from Shaw.
“Oh congratulations, my mistake,” Shaw remarked, like it wasn’t information he already knew. The tension-choked air lightened, if only for a second.
“An honest mistake, I’m sure.” Cole nodded.
I wish I could see his face, but with his back turned, I could only watch Shaw’s.
My eyes scanned the lineup of their members, some low lackeys I had never met and one delicate-looking redhead.
Melody. Seems like my research wasn’t as good as it should have been, and I let myself be fooled.
Stupid girl. Melody flipped her auburn locks over her shoulder and waved softly when our eyes met.
A large diamond ring glittered in the church lights, and my heart stuttered. No.
“We’ve never heard of the girl, but we are not the only players in town,” Shaw commented. I lost the conversation in the momentary distraction that was Melody.
“What do you mean?” I blurted out, and every head turned towards me.
It felt like my head was underwater as I walked to the center of the church.
Cole’s hand entangled in mine as soon as I stood beside him.
Whether he was lending me strength or a warning, I wasn’t so sure.
Shaw’s eyes bore into mine, venomous hate.
I blinked slowly, and the sunken feeling subsided.
“You don’t know? That’s disappointing.” Shaw chastised, and I bit my tongue so hard, my knuckles were white from the death grip I had on Cole’s fingers.
“Perhaps you can educate me, your lessons are hard to forget.” I bite out.
Shaw’s hearty laugh boomed through the room. “I see my lessons never took. You still forget to respect your elders,” I tensed, ready to pull the gun stashed in my waistband.
“Enough.” Coles’ authority broke the rising tension. “I want my property, she wants her child, we know you have one.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, I do not have your property. If I did I would return the garbage with the rest,” Shaw’s voice was pointed as he looked me in the eye.
I moved faster than any rational thought, so consumed with anger.
The barrel was pressed against his dick.
The point of his knife poised at my ribcage.
Everyone held their breath, the only sound a collective draw of weaponry from both sides as my fingers hovered over the trigger.
It all came down — neat and final. My vision narrowed, and all I saw was the black hole of the muzzle.
Shaw’s smirk froze against the stained glass of the church.
Time stretched as my finger brushed the trigger.
Like a movie in reverse, the memories un-spooled — Cole’s laughter at the kitchen sink, Scott’s hand on mine the night everything started to tilt, Dustin’s smile at the range.
Melody’s ring flashed under the chandeliers, proof stacked in my mind like bricks. Three heartbeats, two. One.
Pain arrived before the sound, a white-hot flash at my ribs that split the slow motion like glass.
Air ripped out of me. My hand spasmed, and the gun pulled sideways.
The shot that should have been the end split off into the rafters, a hollow, useless sound.
Warmth slicked my hands, and the floor rose as I fell.
Cole’s voice shredded through my pain as he jerked me into a pew.
The first shot, a message answered with force.
A dozen thunderclaps as pistols, shotguns and the low rat-tat of an automatic.
Wood splintered, paper flew as the church descended into chaos.
I gritted through the pain as the blood flowed.
Cole ripped the bottom of his shirt. A searing pain shot through my body as he tied it around my waist. “Stay down.” He ordered as he dashed through the pew to the other side.
Bullets zinged past me, shaking the old oak. Splinters collected in my hair, but my eyes locked with the sniper — Dustin.