“What does he want with me, anyways?” Sarah asked, looking at Bryce.
“Plainly put, he paid for your daughter, but since she is no longer available, he has requested you instead,” Bryce answered.
“So, that’s why Kinnerk and you are after me?” Sarah shot back. “He was the one who orchestrated all of this?”
Bryce nodded. “Yes. He commissioned us to bring you in and clean up this God forsaken mess.”
Sarah lowered her head, then threw her elbow at Leatherface, smashing his nose. His taut grip on her arm lessened. He wailed in pain. She wrenched her arm free and shoved him against the wall. He hit with a thump, knocking some of the pictures hanging on the wall to the floor.
They crashed against the hard surface. Glass busted. She ran away from him.
A gunshot sounded at her back, stopping Sarah in her tracks. Fingers balled up in the collar of her shirt, then yanked her backward. Her feet got tangled, sending her to the floor.
Leatherface straddled her body and trained his gun at her head. He scrunched his nose, then massaged it with his fingers. “You just don’t get it, do you? There is no place for you to run and hide that we will not find you, so stop this nonsense before I hobble your leg.”
Sarah looked away and held her arms up in front of her.
Leatherface gritted his teeth, then peered over at Bryce. “We need to get moving so we can get back to Boston and complete this transfer. We’re already cutting the deadline Valintino gave us close.”
Gunfire sounded from outside. Silence draped over everyone like a heavy blanket.
Bryce turned and looked through the living room blinds. He snapped his fingers at his minion, then nodded toward the front of the house. “Get out there and see what’s going on.”
The tall, well-dressed man offered a single nod, and left through the front door, pistol trained ahead of him.
“Come here. Get off the damn floor.” Leatherface grabbed Sarah by the scruff of her shirt and jerked her from the flat of her back with a scowl. Each movement he made was filled with anger and disdain.
Bryce looked past them to the French doors, then back out of the blinds to the open field and front yard. “I don’t see a damn thing. Not even our men.”
“You don’t think Valintino decided to cut us out and take her without paying, do you?” Leatherface asked, holding her close to him.
“Who knows. It’s possible, but doubtful. He’s a man of his word and has given us a deadline that we still have time left on,” Bryce answered. “No. This is something else. Someone else is doing this.”
Gunshots sounded once more. Both the mob boss and his right-hand man flinched and looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.
A loud clamor sounded from the back of the house.
Leatherface turned around with Sarah held close to his chest. He trained his piece at the opened doorway as a man stumbled inside the house.
The suit mumbled and deflated against the wall. His pistol slipped free of his hand and hit the floor. The front of his coat looked wet. He took two more steps before sliding across the wall and hitting the floor near Mr. Johnson.
“What the hell?” Bryce said, his tone rising an octave.
Bullets pelted the house, punching through the living room window. Leatherface turned and faced the gunfire.
Bryce dropped to his knees, and covered his head with his arms.
The front door opened and hit the wall. One of Bryce’s men ran inside, clutching his right bicep. He panted hard, struggling to catch his breath. “Kinnerk’s men are–”
Three more shots fired, hitting him in the upper back. He dropped to the floor.
A tall man dressed in jeans, a coat, and a black ski mask rushed inside with his heater sweeping the house.
Leatherface squeezed the trigger of his piece. Muzzle fire flashed from the corner of her eye. The report of the pistol hammered Sarah’s ears. The single bullet struck the masked man in the forehead. His head snapped back and his legs gave out.
“That bastard Kinnerk is still alive?” Bryce shouted. He stayed low and moved toward his dead man lying on the floor near the front door. He grabbed the man’s pistol and ejected the magazine.
Samuel Kinnerk rushed headlong through the front door, guns blazing. Bullets zipped past Sarah and Leatherface as he pulled her away from the line of fire.
Bryce stood and grabbed Kinnerk by the shoulders, then shoved him against the wall. “I can’t believe you’re still alive.”
Kinnerk wrestled with the larger, stronger mob boss. “No thanks to you and that back stabbing trader, Lasater, you hired to snuff me.”
Both men wrestled for a clean shot on the other, squeezing the triggers of their guns with the hope of hitting their mark.
Leatherface kept a tight hold on Sarah. He brought his pistol to bear and searched for an opening on Kinnerk.
Sarah thrashed, fighting to get free of his hold. She stomped his foot, then leaned forward.
“Ah. Damnit.” He limped and favored his foot as Sarah slipped from his arms. Leatherface clawed at her shirt while trying to find a shot on Kinnerk.
Footfalls raced down the hallway from the French doors. Sarah caught a glimpse of a black clad figure charging toward them. It slammed into Leatherface, knocking him off balance and her into the wall.
Sarah hit and dropped to her knees. The pulsating in her head grew.
Both men grappled on the floor, throwing punches and looking for the advantage over the other. She peered over at the two men and spotted the Ghost Skull mask. Spencer.
He straddled Leatherface’s waist, then pulled a blade from the sheath on the side of his leg. Spencer
