Page 54 of Captivated with Them

Panic ensued.

The courtroom security guards were focused on the man who’d fired the gun, their own weapons pulled, aiming at Cisco King’s man, while they shouted for him to get down. Joe Nettie’s lawyers had dropped to their knees beside him, doing their best to stem the flow of blood, though from the position of the wound, I doubted they’d be able to do much to save him. The judge, jury, and other court clerks had headed to the back of the courtroom, vanishing through the door that would take them to the judge’s chambers. Those sitting in the gallery were flooding toward the doors I’d only recently entered through.

I hated that I was sitting down. It made it hard for me to spot Rue and Frankie through the multitude of bodies. But being in the chair gave me the advantage of being able to barge people out of the way, and those who noticed me automatically made space for me.

The moment I got out of the courtroom and into the corridor beyond, the number of people dispersed as they ran away from the scene of the shooting. More guards hurried toward me, but they didn’t even give me a second glance, their focus on getting inside the courtroom and dealing with the shooter.

Doing my best to keep my cool, I tried to spot Rue. The number of people leaving the courtroom had petered out, and I was fearful I’d missed her and Frankie, or that he’d taken her out via a different route.

Then I saw them, Frankie dragging Rue down the corridor, heading toward me. Frankie was looking back over his shoulder, perhaps concerned one of Cisco’s men would also decide to come after him, so he didn’t spot me right away.

I wheeled the chair out and swung it in front of Frankie’s legs, blocking the way.

“Ryan!” Rue’s face lit up at the sight of me but then crumpled again as she must have noted the wheelchair and remembered our current situation.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Frankie spat. “Get out of my fucking way.”

I pulled the gun and aimed it directly at him, while keeping the barrel low and close to the arm of the wheelchair so anyone who might happen to be walking by was less likely to spot the gun. Most of those who’d been in the courtroom had either fled or were being held by the security guards.

I made sure Frankie knew I had it, however. “Not until you hand over Rue.”

He shook his head but didn’t release her. “You’re making a big mistake, asshole.”

I wanted to shoot him, to put an end to the fucking bastard for good, just like that man had done to Joe Nettie, but I couldn’t risk having that much attention put on me. Security was currently distracted by what had happened in the courtroom, and I didn’t want to be arrested for having a gun in here, but Frankie didn’t need to know that.

“Do you want to test me?” I threatened.

Frankie laughed and shoved Rue toward me. I grabbed her with my free hand and pulled her close.

“Do you really think you’re going to get far like that?” he mocked. “A girl and a cripple. We’ll kill you before you reach the end of the street.”

“We’ll see about that.” I turned my attention to Rue. “You’re going to need to push me.”

She seemed to understand that I had to keep the gun pointed at Frankie, even while she wheeled me down the corridor. It was the only way I’d be able to keep him in place, giving us the time to get away.

As usual, no one noticed the guy in the wheelchair.

The guy holding the gun.

We hurried down the hall toward the exit.

“Where are we going?” Rue cried.

“Out the front. Kodee is waiting for us there.”

At least I hoped he would be. There was always the possibility he’d been arrested during the first disturbance, but the plan had been for him to get our minders in the SUV rattled because they were garnering too much attention, and for him to get the hell out of there. I had no way of knowing if that part had gone the way we’d wanted, or if it had been as much of a screwup as what had just gone down in the courtroom, but I had to hope.

Rue wheeled me out into the fresh air. Not wanting anyone to notice us, I quickly hid the gun. I had no doubt Frankie would be hot on our tail, but he’d most likely be making some phone calls to ensure we didn’t get too far. Of course, cellphones also weren’t allowed in the courthouse, so he’d have to get his back before he could do that.

“There!” I pointed across the street. Kodee was sitting in Gordon Little’s car, waiting for us at the curbside. We’d taken Gordon up on his offer to help and had asked if we could use his car, among other things. “Let’s move!”

Kodee spotted us and pulled out, veering across traffic that blasted its annoyance in car horns, and screeching to a halt right beside us.

Rue opened the back door. I didn’t need her help. I leaned over and used my upper body strength to lift myself out of the chair and into the back seat.

“What about the wheelchair?” she cried as she climbed in beside me.

“Leave it.”

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