Page 76 of Theirs to Take

“Which means that we’re as good as dead too,” Luke mumbled.

“Naw,” Ranger said. “You don’t think I walked in here and actually told them about the only weapon that I was carrying, do you?” Luke did, actually, but he wasn’t about to tell his friend that. “Plus, I saw you swipe the gun on the table when I was calling Millie. I think we have a fighting chance here.”

“What did they say before they left the room?” Luke asked.

“Oh—that they were going to give us ten minutes and then kill both of us. They also said something about finding the woman that they let leave earlier—I’m assuming that was Ruby.”

“Shit,” Luke growled. “How are you so calm about all of this?”

“Because they took my phone,” he said.

“I’m not following,” Luke said. “You’re happy that they took your cell phone?”

“I am,” he said. “Especially since I’ve rigged it to explode when it rings. Well, it will be less of a ring and more of a vibration and then—bang.”

“Your phone is going to explode in that guy’s pocket?” Luke asked.

“Yep,” Ranger said. “I’m betting that it will take out both guys since they seem to be joined at the hip.”

“And what happens if they’re in here when it detonates?” Luke questioned.

“I’m betting that won’t happen,” Ranger said. “They went out to smoke and said they’d be coming back in ten minutes.”

“So, we have about eight minutes left until we blow up with the Korean guys. Do I have that right?” Luke asked.

“Kind of,” Ranger said. “Except I forgot to tell you the part about Millie saying that she’d call me back in five. So, actually, we have about three minutes until they blow up out in the driveway. At least, that’s where I’m assuming where they’re having a smoke.”

“Jesus, man,” Luke grumbled. “You’re a bit more ruthless than I remember. Still, it’s cutting things close, isn’t it?”

“Nope,” Ranger said. “You see, Millie is an overachiever and she’ll actually call back in three minutes, not five. That means that my phone should go off any second now.”

Luke felt as though he was holding his breath, waiting for the sound of an explosion when he realized that Ranger knew a bit too much about Millie. “You slept with her, didn’t you?” Luke accused.

“What?” Ranger asked.

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Luke said. “You slept with Millie, didn’t you? Shit—working together is going to fucking suck.”

“Fine,” Ranger said. “I slept with her, and yeah, working with her now isn’t a picnic, but we’ll find a way to make it work.”

“You’re an idiot,” Luke insisted. The front door opened and before he knew it, Ranger was flying across the kitchen at him, knocking him off his chair and onto the floor under the kitchen table. Their world seemed to explode around them and when he looked out from under the table, at the dust and debris that were still flying around the kitchen, he realized that he couldn’thear. Ranger looked like he was shouting at him, but he couldn’t hear anything but his muffled voice. Luke pointed at his ears as if signaling that he couldn’t hear him, and Ranger pointed to the back door. He practically pulled Luke from under the table and out to the backyard. Ranger gave him the thumbs-up sign and Luke nodded, even though he felt anything but okay about what had happened to him today.

“Did it get both of them?” Luke asked. He was sure that he was shouting, but he couldn’t help it. Ranger gave him the “stay here” signal and he nodded as he watched his friend take off around the corner of the house. Luke collapsed onto the grass, suddenly feeling very tired, and moaned. He closed his eyes and knew that he was damn lucky to be alive, given the way everything seemed to hurt. When he opened his eyes, he saw one of the Korean guys stumbling into the backyard. He was still holding his gun in his right hand, but his left arm was gone. It must have been blown off in the explosion. He was shouting at Luke and when he pointed his gun at him, he knew that nothing was stopping the guy. This was it—his final seconds, and all he could do was close his eyes and pray that it would be quick. Ruby’s face flashed through his head, and he smiled, knowing that she got out—she and his baby would be safe and that was enough for him now. He could die knowing that they were safe.

A shot rang out and for just a second, he thought that he could feel the pain of the bullet searing his skin. Luke opened his eyes and looked up to find Ranger standing over him, the Korean guy lying face down next to him on the ground, a pool of blood around his chest.

“You okay?” Ranger shouted into his ear.

“No,” Luke breathed. “I’m not.” He knew that he was going to pass out, but that was fine with him. Luke welcomed the darkness. He’d love to feel numb, if only for a few minutes. He closed his eyes again and this time, he allowed the darkness toconsume him as Ruby’s beautiful face played through his mind again.

Ruby

Ruby rushed into the hospital and shouted Luke’s name as though he’d call back to her. Instead, she found a very worried-looking Ranger standing in the hallway, pacing in front of one of the ER rooms. “Is he in there?” she asked.

Millie rushed in behind her and nodded to Ranger. “How is he?” she asked.

“He’s in there and I’m not sure how he’s doing. They won’t give me any answers.”

“Are you all right?” Millie asked Ranger.

---