Page 64 of Gunner

My eyes sweep the kitchen quickly. I do it while I’m shaking my head, like I’m exasperated. This is going to be about putting on a show for the next thirty seconds before I can make the magic happen.

If I can make it happen.

If I can’t, these men have their instructions. I know the worst they’re going to do is incapacitate me again.

While not painful for me, I can’t let that happen. I might be the only person who can get to Ronan right now, and Ineedto get to him.

Wherever he is.

These men won’t tell me. My father won’t tell me.

Getting to that knife block across the kitchen and getting a knife to one of their throats won’t do anything. If they disobey their orders, they think they’re as good as dead anyway, though I refuse to believe my father would punish his men like that. He never did before, at least not unless it was an extreme circumstance.

I channel all of my training and leap, using the island for leverage. I spring up onto it and jump from it to the counter, crashing down half on top the propane stove. The grates rattle loudly, but I keep my footing. I crouch down and grasp thehandle of one of the largest knives from the block and press it to my wrist, all of it in less than three or four seconds.

The three thugs are so stunned that all they can do is blink at me.

“I’ll hurt myself,” I threaten. “You so much as move, and I’ll cut.” I might be holding the knife at the wrong side of my wrist to do much damage, but even the threat of a potential fuckup of this magnitude has the quiet one digging in his pocket.

Out comes his cell and he sets it down on the floor in front of him.

“Yeah, not likely,” I snort. “Pick it up and set it over here by the stove. You get too close, I cut myself and I won’t do it like I don’t mean it. You’ll have a puddle to clean up and I’ll probably need stitches.

He quickly complies. I have no idea what kind of fear my father instilled in the men he chose for this, but I think that he’s taking not a scratch on herway too far. Then again, if he wasn’t, I’d be so screwed right now. It’s the training he gave me and the way he taught me to be a quick thinker that gave me this advantage right now. I don’t feel bad about taking it as far as I have to.

Until I get to Ronan and make sure he’s safe, it won’t be nearly far enough.

“Where?” I growl. “I want an address.” When they don’t immediately respond, I press the knife harder. Before it can draw blood, the giant puts up his hands, one at me and the other backwards, to keep the other two from moving.

“There’s a place in Seattle. An old butcher’s shop.”

My stomach lurches. It takes all my strength not to be sick all over the place.

“When you said questioning, what did you really mean?”

“Just that,” the giant stammers, trying to be convincing.

“How are they going to question him? With fists? With tools? Torture? Question him about what?”

“I don’t know. Honestly. Your father isn’t here yet, but he’s coming. He’ll be in Seattle by tonight.”

“Testa di cazzo!” The second thug hasn’t said anything for a while and now he’s cursing out his leader.

The guy turns a menacing eye on him.

I stomp my foot on the counter to get his attention. It’s so crazy that I’m up here like this, threatening to hurt myself and they’re down there. They don’t look nearly as big or powerful from this vantage point. I don’t have time to play games. What I need is a phone, a vehicle, and an address.

“I need keys, and I need to know where you have your vehicle stashed.”

The giant’s eyes get wide at that, but I angle my arm so he can see I mean business with the knife. It’s a good thing that it’s not really all that sharp or I would have sliced my arm off by now with my theatrics.

“You’ll put your guns on floor and find something to tie those two up with. When that’s done, you’ll sit and let me tie you. Any false move and I tell my father you set hands on me. You understand?”

I could never do that to someone, but right now, all I have is threats. These men didn’t get a choice, and my father didn’t give me one either.

“If you give me an incorrect address, same thing.”

None of them like it, but eventually they move, unloaded their guns as I asked. They don’t have any more rope. The first gets what was holding me, and the second gets sliced up bedsheets from the spare room.

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