“You don’t have to worry about her. Not unless you plan to do something stupid.” Mr. Diaz walks out from the back part of the club—with Kiana in front of him like some sort of human shield and he has a gun to her neck.
“Are you okay?” Lawson’s expression shifts to panic.
“I’m fine, dad.” Kiana’s eyes are red. It looks like she’s been crying.
The sight of her in that predicament drives me into a rage, but I do my best to control my emotions.
“Why don’t the two of you put down your guns and we can talk about this like civilized people.” Mr. Diaz’s eye twitches and he shoves the gun into Kiana’s neck to make sure we get the point.
Fuck. Putting down my gun might as well be suicide, but I’m not going to risk something happening to her because I don’t comply. Lawson puts his on the table without a single moment of hesitation. I pause for a moment, assess the situation, and decide it’s the only option I have.
“Let her go, Diaz.” I bark at him. “Our guns are down.”
“I feel a little safer talking to you with a little insurance in front of me.” He glares at me. “All you had to do was bring me the money, Bram. It didn’t have to be like this.”
“You would have gotten your money if you had left her out of this.” I narrow my eyes and growl under my breath.
“This has gone on long enough.” Hudson holds up one hand to Mr. Diaz and one to us. “I’m the one that screwed up here. Dad, I never owed those gambling debts. I was just trying to get money out of you.”
“What?” Lawson gives his son a confused stare.
“I’m sorry.” Hudson sighs.
“Hudson, how could you…” Lawson looks like he’s been emotionally stunned.
“See, this was all a misunderstanding.” Mr. Diaz smiles. “I propose we all admit we made some mistakes here today and walk away—alive.”
“The only way you’re walking away from this is if you let her go.” I motion to Kiana.
“If you want to make that deal…” Mr. Diaz nods. “I let her go and we all walk away.”
I don’t want to spare his life. Not after everything he’s done. I just don’t think I have a choice right now. Lawson might as well have gotten knocked on his ass by Hudson’s confession—he’s falling apart.
“Fine.” I hold up my hands. “We have a deal.”
“Excellent.” Mr. Diaz smiles. “I know you’re a man of your word.”
He’s right. I hate it, but he’s right. It’s too dangerous for me to reach for the gun in front of me—it’s too dangerous for me to grab the .45 ACP in the waistband of my pants. I’m not going to start firing shots with Kiana and Hudson standing between me and my target. This will be the last deal I make with Mr. Diaz, but I don’t have a choice right now.
“Now, if the two of you will do me one favor…” Mr. Diaz releases Kiana and she rushes towards me.
“What’s that?” I take her in my arms and stare Mr. Diaz down.
“It’s simple really.” He shrugs. “Just fucking die…”
Mr. Diaz raises his gun. He isn’t keeping his deal. I throw Kiana to the ground and reach for my .45 ACP. Then something catches the corner of my eye. It’s the thug that approached me in the garage. He is coming up behind Lawson with a knife drawn.
“Lawson, watch out!” I get my gun drawn and try to aim.
Lawson would never allow someone to sneak up on him if we were in the desert. I wouldn’t have let someone get the drop on us. Lawson is stunned by what Hudson told him. I actually trusted Mr. Diaz long enough to lose my situational awareness. I was too focused on making sure Kiana was safe.
“Dad!” Hudson rushes towards his father.
It’s too late. The thug drives his knife into Lawson’s ribs and his eyes roll back in his head. I fire a shot that catches the thug in the chest—then two more than finish him off. I see Mr. Diaz squeezing the trigger. Instinct kicks in. I kick a table up and duck behind it just in time to see the wood splinter.
“Kiana, come here!” I reach for her.
“Oh my god!” She ignores me and scrambles to her father’s side.
I glance over the table and see Mr. Diaz moving his gun towards Hudson and Kiana. I fire a shot that causes him to duck, then he takes aim again. They’re so distraught they aren’t even trying to take cover.
Mr. Diaz’s finger squeezes the trigger with his gun aimed at Kiana. I push off the table and leap into the air, firing shots before I land in front of her.
I see one of them catch Mr. Diaz in the neck before a searing pain shoots through my abdomen. I’ve been hit.
Fuck.
“Bram!” Kiana turns as I stumble into her.
This isn’t how it was supposed to go. We were going to storm this place and save Kiana. Now we’re both on the ground and this club may become our tomb.
Adrenaline allowed me to push through the pain from earlier, but now I’m losing blood. This isn’t good. My vision is blurry. I look over at Lawson and see him sputtering before looking up at the most beautiful face in the world—a face that is covered in tears.
“You’re okay…” I reach out and squeeze her hand. “That’s all that matters. I love you, Kiana.”
At least there will be one person that cries at my funeral.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kiana
“Bram, don’t die on me. Please!” I squeeze his hand as his eyes close.
“Kiana, dad’s in really bad shape.” Hudson draws my attention away from Bram for a moment. “I’m calling 911.”
“I think they’re already here…” I look towards the door and finally process the fact that the noise I’ve been hearing is the wail of a siren.
This
