Page 68 of Warped

“No, your father is smarter than that. He knows he’ll do better from me in the long run if I’m alive.”

“And you’re happy with that? I thought you wanted to take over my father’s business, and instead you allow him to come and shoot up your house, kill your men, and then he orders you around like a little lapdog. I thought you were better than that, Tony.”

His eyes narrowed and a muscle in his forehead twitched. “It’s called being sensible. Perhaps that’s something you should start learning about yourself, Verity. For example, coming back here wasn’t the most sensible choice you’ve ever made.”

I glared back at him. “I had to find Nicole. It’s called putting someone else before yourself—but you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Perhaps you should have put your boyfriend before your sister, because now I’m going to have to shoot him.” He gave a sigh of exasperation. “Again. Only this time he’s going to stay dead.”

Tony jerked his chin at Warren and Paulie.

“No! Wait!” I yelled, pointing my weapon at Tony as a threat.

But X wasn’t going to stand around and be shot. He threw his shoulder to one side, knocking Paulie to the ground. A shot went off, making me instinctively duck. The two men tussled, and a gun skittered across the floor, away from them. I glanced at it, trying to figure out if I could risk taking my aim off Tony long enough to go for the gun. Warren aimed his own weapon at X, but in the bundle of arms and legs, couldn’t get a clear shot.

“Stop!” I shouted. “Or I’ll shoot Tony. I swear I will.”

I was torn, wanting to use my gun to cover X, while knowing if I dared move it from Tony, he’d take advantage of that moment of weakness.

But then something hit Warren from behind, throwing him forward, and I realized it was Johnny. A second gun went off, but X had gotten the advantage, and he lifted his fist and punched Paulie in the face. The crunch of bone splintered through the room, and Paulie howled.

An arm locked around my throat, and a hand struck my wrist in a karate chop, causing my fingers to spring open and the gun to fall from my hand. I’d taken my eye off Tony for too long, and he’d realized his men were losing. Tony choked me hard, pain searing through my already bruised throat. I tugged at his arm, trying to pull him loose, but he was too strong for me. My breath was trapped in my chest, and I was only able to take the tiniest sips of air, barely enough to stop me from passing out. I stared down at the gun Paulie had lost, my eyes bulging. Would he try to grab it? If he did, he’d have to loosen his hold on me, and then I’d do everything I could to get free.

“Let her go!”

X had grabbed the gun he’d dropped and now stood in front of me, pointing it toward where Tony held me. My gaze cast over his shoulder, to where Paulie appeared to be semi-conscious. Warren was lying still, and Johnny was on his knees, clutching a bullet wound in his thigh.

Tony was still unarmed. My eyes flicked to the gun on the floor again. Would he try to go for it?

“Don’t move,” said Tony, “or I’ll break her fucking neck—you know I will.”

“How do you think Mickey Five Fingers is going to react to that?” said X. “I can’t imagine he’d be too happy about you not keeping up your end of the deal.”

“He wants her dead anyway,” Tony spat. “I’d be doing him a favor.”

“You really think that? You’re kidding yourself if you do.”

Tony’s hold around my throat tightened, and I gave an involuntary gurgle. The pain was excruciating, making my eyes stream and blurring my vision. I wished I could shout to X to just shoot him, but I couldn’t speak.

“Johnny, pick up the other gun,” X shouted over his shoulder.

Johnny looked up, his eyes wide, his face pale. “What?”

“You owe Vee. Help us now.”

Fresh panic filled the older man’s features, but he leaned to one side and reached out to snag the fallen weapon.

“Johnny!” Tony snarled. “Don’t you fucking dare betray me. I’ll ruin you.”

Johnny managed to stand. “You already have ruined me. Ever since you first walked into my bar. And it isn’t you I betrayed, it was Vee.”

He was limping, but he was on his feet, moving past the fallen men to stand with X.

A shot went off, and Johnny staggered forward then fell face first at my feet.

X spun around and fired. Warren had regained consciousness and shot Johnny in the back. Perhaps he’d been aiming for X and missed, I had no way of knowing, but X returned fire and Warren collapsed backward, the bullet finding home.

Tony used the moment of confusion to dart for the gun. His arm was still around my throat, and he dragged me with him, but the change in direction was enough to loosen his hold on me, allowing me to suck in a long lungful of air. Tony snatched up the gun, but X had already turned back around. He must have noticed Tony’s hold wasn’t so tight.

“Vee, duck,” X yelled.

I lunged to the side as much as I could, creating a clear path between Tony and X. The bullet he fired was so close I felt the movement of it through the air as it flew past my cheek and struck Tony in the throat.

“That’s for ever laying a hand on Vee,” X said, as the other man crumpled to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

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