Page 105 of Static

"What are you doing, Man?"

"Stop resisting," the first guy told him, grappling with him. "You're under arrest."

"Reed?"

I turned and saw Torres and his fellow officers jogging up, guns half drawn. I motioned to the men on the ground, knowing Torres would figure it out. As I ran past, I looked down at the man. "Smart play."

I didn't give a damn about either man. They'd both end up in jail. The guy who arrested the other wasn't going to have a story that would hold up about why he was there before everyone else. Torres would handle it. For now, I needed to find my family.

CHAPTER 37

Gwen

Igasped as Fremont ordered the other men to kill Static. I wouldn't let this happen. This man was responsible for so much pain in our lives. He was the reason Sean nearly killed his own father. So much of what Trent ended up doing was sanctioned and encouraged by Fremont. Which was something I found out after I got out of the hospital and after I heard Trent was dead. This was ending. Now.

Looking down at Sean, I met his gaze and gave him a pointed look. He nodded in understanding, his body tensing. Gunshots sounded around us, but I ignored them. They weren't shooting at us. They were shooting at the man I loved.

Turning, I looked Fremont right in the eyes, and used every ounce of my strength as I punched him right in the face. Movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention and I saw my son scamper behind a car, well out of the way of the shooting. He was safe.

"You stupid bitch!" Fremont bellowed, grabbing me by the arm as I tried to move away from him. He still had his gun and he was stronger than me, so as he started pulling me along, I was forced to go with him. I struggled, but couldn't pull out of his grip. The blood dripping down his face from his broken nose gave me a sense of grim satisfaction, but my hand was throbbing. Hitting people hurt.

"Let me go!" I shouted, hitting him again anywhere I could reach. This time I was off balance so I couldn't get any power behind the blows.

Static had shown up right before I was about to make my move. It was probably best because my move was to dive for Fremont's gun and probably end up getting shot for my trouble. But I didn't want Static, or Sean, to be hurt either. I hoped to God Static would be able to fight his way out of that situation and find Sean. As long as they were safe, I knew it would be okay.

"I'm going to shoot you in the fucking face if you don't stop squirming around!" Fremont bellowed at me.

I recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same look Trent had almost a year ago, minus the blurriness from cocaine use. Fremont wasn't under the influence of anything, but he was insane. Something had snapped inside and he was a madman. He wanted to kill me. I was sure I wasn't the only one, but I would do since I was all he had.

Knocking his hand away from my head, I grabbed his wrist with both hands, trying to keep the gun pointed in a different direction. I wasn't going to go down quietly. I wasn't going to let him almost beat me to death the way Trent had. And I certainly wasn't going to let him shoot me. I kicked out, hitting him in the side of the knee.

Bones snapping reverberated through my leg and I forced myself to hold back a gag. He went down like a sack of potatoes, crying out in anguish. The gun slid away across the ground. I darted toward it, but his hand wrapped around my ankle. Stars burst behind my eyes as my chin hit the ground.

The shock made me freeze, at least until Fremont began crawling toward the gun. I didn't have the luxury of holding still until the pain in my head stopped. No one was here to help me this time. Jordan was safely at home. Static and Scythe were fighting off the other assholes who worked for Fremont. I hoped like hell Sean was still hiding. He and Grace were my world. As long as they were alive, I would be happy. I knew Static would fight just as hard for them.

I forced my body to respond and scrambled for the gun. I was desperate. If Fremont got there first, I was dead. He wasn't going to bother dragging me any further. My hand closed over metal. There was no time to check to see if there was a safety. The weight of the gun in my hand let me know it was loaded. I was so grateful my brother taught me everything he knew back in the day.

Flipping onto my back, I held the gun out and pulled the trigger. The gunshot was deafening. The shock on Fremont's face made my eyes widen. He and I both looked down to where blood was spreading over his shirt under his coat. My hands started shaking, but I was waiting to see if I needed to shoot him again. I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted him to get away from me. But there was a lot of blood. I was pretty sure I'd hit his heart.

His eyes met mine and the madness faded along with whatever it was that made up a person's life force. I watched it drain from his eyes. Then he collapsed on top of my shins. That's how close he'd been to me when I shot him. He'd been clawing his way up my body, trying to drag me away from the gun.

"Gwen!"

My name sounded so far away. I wasn't sure if it was the concussion I was certain I had, the ringing in my ears from the gunshot, or shock.

"Dammit, Gwen! Where are you?"

"Here!" I forced myself to call out. The word was weak, even to my own muffled ears, but Static heard it.

"Jesus!" Arms surrounded me, jerking me onto his lap as he sat on the cold ground next to me. "Are you okay?" His hands were roaming all over me.

"Hit my face on the concrete," I mumbled, still staring at Fremont. He wasn't moving. "Is he dead?" I whispered.

"Yeah, Baby Girl. He's dead." His touch was gentle as he used a finger to turn my face toward him. Worried blue eyes searched my face. "Where else are you hurt?"

"I'm not... My hand. I punched him."

He chuckled and hugged me close.

---