Chapter Thirty-Six

I groaned as I waded my way back to consciousness.

“Yeah. That’s gonna leave a mark.”

I squinted up at Ramirez’s words. The man was looking at me with a small smile on his face. There was a cruel glint in his eyes, and I found myself wondering how I could have been so mistaken about his personality.

“You’ve been manipulating Monato this whole time,” I stated.

“Among other things.”

I felt a small amount of vindication because at least I hadn’t been outplayed by that glorified pimp. Monato had been a puppet. A ludicrous, dangerous, and nearly farcical figurehead.

“Where’s Cass?” I asked automatically.

“She’ll be here shortly,” the Doc told me.

And as if on cue, the door swung open and Yuri shoved Cass through.

“Her friend is gone. And is therefore obviously smarter than this one,” the big mercenary announced.

“I thought the friend was dead.” The Doc sounded confused, but not particularly angry.

“Apparently…We missed.”

“They got out of the basement?” the Doc asked. “I’m impressed.”

Yuri nodded as he shoved Cass toward me, then pushed her down on to her knees.

“I’m sorry,” Cass whispered, and my chest burned with guilt.

It should’ve been me apologizing to her. I had treated her badly, and she was still the one being kind. It made me feel even worse.

“Might as well tie them together,” Ramirez told Gary.

I ignored my former money man as he bound us together.

“Why didn’t you go with Blair?” I asked.

Cass gave me another apologetic look.

It’s because of me. The expression on her face—part adoration, part nervous regret—confirmed it.

“I’m fine, Cass,” I said angrily. “You should’ve gone with her. You don’t owe me anything.”

Hurt flashed through her eyes before she buried it with resolve.

“Do you want us to go after the other girl?” Yuri asked the Doc.

“No!” Cass gasped. “She’s not going to do anything. I made her swear she wouldn’t call the police.”

“You really think I’m going to take that risk?” the Doc asked. “I’m done with loose ends.”

“Please,” Cass begged.

The Doc sighed and waved his gun around with exaggerated patience. “Help me here first, Yuri. Then you and Gary can get the other girl.”

He handed the weapon to the big man, who pointed it at us and waited for the Doc’s signal.

I reached for Cass’s hand. She resisted for one second, before her fingers curled through mine, and I squeezed back. Her grip was reassuringly warm, but she was shaking.

“Look at my face,” I said, “Not at the gun.”

She turned away from the flat black weapon, and met my eyes.

“What are you glad for? Right now,” I whispered.

She replied without hesitation. “That I met you.”

I smiled, and in spite of my dread about what was going to happen, I felt relief.

“I made a mistake before, telling you to go. I wish I had time to explain it,” I said softly. “But in case I never get to say it again, I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you.”

“You picked a hell of a time to tell me,” Cass replied. “But just in case…Me too.”

My smile grew into a stupid grin that got even broader when I heard the Doc groan in disgust.

“What a waste,” he said. “If Seever had been willing to let go of his brother’s death, you two could be having this conversation in the privacy of the bedroom.”

His men snickered.

The Doc flicked his hand to the mercenary with the gun trained on us. “Shoot them both, Yuri. Him first, then her. Or the other way around, I don’t care.”

“What’s your plan, Doc?” I asked.

He probably knew I was stalling, but he answered anyway. “Do I need one?”

“You seem like the kind of guy who’d want to brag about it,” I stated.

“Fine,” Ramirez sighed. “It’s a simple one. I placed an anonymous tip to the police about your friend Billy.”

I was genuinely puzzled. “Billy?”

“Rumour has it he recently beat a man to death with a baton,” the Doc said.

Cass cringed beside me. I made myself ignore it.

“Calling Monato a man…That’s a stretch,” I replied.

The Doc shrugged. “Doesn’t matter anymore. The police will find the baton, either in Billy’s apartment or in his car. And when they get to his place, they’ll find an incriminating note that will then lead them here.”

“Then what?” I asked.

“Then they’ll find your bodies,” Ramirez told me. “And that gun Yuri is holding, wiped clean of prints, but easily traced back to Billy. Nice tidy package.”

I let myself smile. “Your plan may backfire still.”

“I doubt it.” He turned back to Yuri. “Go ahead.”

Cass looked like she wanted to close her eyes, but I kept my gaze on her, and willed her to keep them open.

There was a muted pop, and I waited for the pain, but it didn’t come.

Cass!

Her expression hadn’t change. She looked toward the ground, and when I followed her stare, I saw that a bullet had penetrated the ground just a foot or so from my knee.

I wrapped my arms around Cass, and she collapsed against my chest as I watched the scene unfold before me.

“What the hell?” the Doc said, and stormed toward the man with the gun. “Am I paying you to aim that badly?”

When he reached him, Yuri toppled over. The Doc pushed him with one booted foot, and the other man’s head rolled sideways. His eyes were open and blank. The Doc’s expression went from annoyed to puzzled. He looked at us, and then nervously around the room. He kicked Yuri over again, then turned to Gary, who was already moving to go after the mercenary’s abandoned weapon. But as his fingers closed around it, another muted pop sounded through the room, and Gary went down, too.

The Doc reached for it automatically and a third bullet whizzed through the air. He screamed in pain. The gun fell from his hand, and as he flexed his fingers, blood began to seep from his palm.

“I’d hold still if I were you, Ramirez,” I suggested calmly.

The other man gave me a cold stare, then bent over to fumble with something in his boot. Blood smeared along his khakis as he brought his hand back up. He held a knife out with a shaky grip, then yelped as a third gunshot cut across the air. The Doc fell forward, and a vibrant red stain spread out across his backside.

I laughed.

“You shot him in the ass!” someone yelled.