Page 24 of The Twins

I pat his shoulder, “I’m sure. Stay with us but give them room.” Reluctantly, he nods, and relays to the others.

Predictably, a block from the restaurant, we’re surrounded. I order our security to stand down, allow them to lead us where they want. I hate how easy it is to read people for me. There is a closed rail station four blocks away, and that is where they are taking us. Men are dumb. Of course, he uses the railway to transport his slaves. I type a quick text to Yak and let him know shit’s about to go down with the location. Tucking my phone away in my purse, I ignore the repeated buzzing. He’s gonna be pissed, and he can join the club.

“What’s happening?” Dot asks in a quiet voice. It enrages me, I detest how this man has broken such a strong woman. I grab the gun from my purse, check it’s loaded, cock it, and hand it to her.

“Don’t hesitate,” I tell her sternly. She nods once; a firm set to her jaw that brings a smile to my face. I hear Blanche cock her own weapon. Turning to Sophia, I unbuckle her seatbelt and point to the floor. “Get down. Do not get up until we tell you to.”

“He’s…he’s coming for her?”

“Yes. But he will not succeed.” Tears fill her eyes and fall over her lashes.

Blanche’s hard tone snaps me upright. “You knew? You planned this?”

“I will not allow us to cower. We are the Kosher Nostra, they will weep at our feet.”

“Ezra is going to be so mad.” Dottie whispers brokenly.

“Only if you die.” I meet Noah’s eyes in the rearview mirror, then look back at Dottie. “So, don’t die.”

“You are unhinged.” I shrug, she’s probably right. It is what it is. I am who I am. The SUV comes to a stop. Men surround the vehicle, barking orders for us to exit. Noah holds his hands up so they can see them through the front windshield. His weapon lays in his lap.

Our doors are pulled open, and Blanche and I start firing. I drop my first gun when the clip empties, and resume firing. Men jerk and drop all around us, the rest of our security blocking the rear. Fish in a barrel.

“STOP!”

“TOVAH!” My body locks up at the sheer terror in Dottie’s voice. Spinning on my heel, I step over two bodies, round the SUV and find Dottie with a gun to her temple. The man whose arm is looped tight around her throat, is a cornered animal.

“Put your fucking guns down!”

“I don’t think I will.”

“Tovah,” Blanche warns.

“She and I are getting out of here. You’re gonna stand down and let us pass, or I will put a fucking bullet in her head.”

“No, you won’t. Your boss wants her alive.”

“He doesn’t give a fuck about you.” In the blink of an eye, he aims at me and fires. An agonizing blaze rips through my upper chest.

“You made her mad,” Blanche remarks. No, I’m fucking furious. This was a $1,000 limited release jumpsuit. And it’s ruined. Also, Dottie’s life and all that.

“Whip It.” The man’s weathered face twists in confusion. It takes a moment for Dottie to register my words, then she’s dead weight in the man’s hands and drops to the ground. I fire twice, one in the chest and one between the eyes.

“DOTTIE!” The empty railyard floods with men of the Kosher Nostra. Ezra runs to his woman, kneeling next to her and checking her all over.

“I’m ok. I’m ok.”

“Where is she? Sophia!” I’ve never heard Yak yell like that. Am I hallucinating? It’s getting dark around the edges of my vision. I stumble back a step. Blanche is right there to stop me from falling. Ezra’s eyes are dark and menacing, promising pain when he looks up at me.

“I told you; I will end you. You promised to protect her!”

“I did. She isn’t the one who got shot,” I snap back. My limbs tingly, my breathing shallow. I feel weak…ugh, I do not enjoy this.

“I’m gonna fuck you up, Tovah.”

“Get in line.”

Tevye 17.

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