Page 58 of Assassin's Prey
I looked; I had to. I took in the gun at Abby’s temple, the mess of her hair, the tears in her eyes, the fierce determination that told me she’d fight till her last breath. The rough shape of her clothes and the bruises on her arms. And then I met Redding’s triumphant gaze. “You’re going to die, I promise you.”
“I don’t think so.” He shoved the barrel harder against Abby’s head, so hard it pushed her ear nearly to her shoulder. “Put them down. Now.”
I eased toward the floor, carefully setting both guns on the carpet. Then stood.
“Kick them to me,” Rathlin said.
I did.
He came toward me. I held Redding’s gaze, not flinching, not wondering about Remi or Eli, even when a muffled roar and shouts came from the direction of the stairwell. I stared at Redding and I waited.
Rathlin had a long black zip tie in his hand now, presumably to cuff me. When he grabbed one arm, I stiffened it, using the resistance to swing my body around and come up behind him. The cry he gave as my fist connected with one of his kidneys said he’d be pissing blood for a day or two, but it didn’t stop him. The fight was rough and dirty—and it hurt. I made sure to keep Rathlin between me and Redding, though the older man made no attempt to stop us. Probably thinking I didn’t have a chance against his hired thug. When I dropped to the floor, swept Rathlin’s feet out from under him, and punched him in the side of the head, knocking him out, I don’t know who was more surprised, Rathlin or Redding.
I got to my feet, picking up Rathlin’s gun on the way.
Redding scoffed, the sound not as steady as he’d probably like. “Go ahead, put a bullet in him. I don’t care. He’s as useless to me as that sniveling Chadwick.”
I was pretty sure that sniveling Chadwick was currently tied up in the outer office. Remi would’ve stationed himself there to ensure no one rappelled up the elevator cables, giving me all the privacy I needed.
I took a step toward Redding. “I made you a promise.” Another step. “Let her go and I might reconsider.”
“She’s my ticket out of here,” Redding said, sidling in a wide arc around me toward the office door. “Besides, who will the police believe, a contract killer with a bloody past or an esteemed businessman who’s put millions into his community?”
“Doesn’t matter what they believe. You’re not getting out of here alive.”
He sneered, but I could see the sweat forming on his forehead. He continued to inch toward the door, and I continued to pivot, keeping him in my sights.
“With my money, I’ll go somewhere no one can find me. And maybe I’ll take your little prize here with me.”
Remi chose that moment to step into the doorway Redding was headed for, gun at the ready. “I don’t think so, motherfucker.”
“Make your choice, Redding,” I said.
He pointed the gun at me, his finger on the trigger. His hand was shaking. “I’ll—”
Abby dropped her weight, bringing both arms up to break his hold. On the way down she bumped Redding so that he stumbled. Planting her foot on the inside of Redding’s knee, she rode it all the way to the floor, putting her full weight on it. The sound of his knee disintegrating crackled through the air.
It was followed by a gunshot. A neat red hole appeared in the center of Redding’s forehead, and his eyes went dead with his last breath.
I dropped Rathlin’s gun and opened my arms for Abby.
In the middle of a job, closing your eyes is like writing your own death warrant; you just don’t do it. But Abby’s weight hitting me in the chest—I sucked in an actual fucking sob and closed my eyes and just…God… She was alive. She was alive and in my arms. I could vaguely hear Remi retreating back into the office, but I didn’t care. I didn’t look. Not with Abby against me again.
“Stop hugging your woman and let’s get out of here,” Remi said as he shoved Chadwick into the living room ahead of him. “Eli won’t be holding them off much longer.”
Chadwick stumbled, nearly losing his footing as his gaze landed on Redding. “What did you— What—” A ghastly white sheen took over his skin, everywhere but the swollen red nose that was covered in a bandage. Abby had good aim, as she’d already proven once tonight. “I—”
“This guy doesn’t look so good,” Remi said, pointing out the obvious.
“I couldn’t give a shit,” I said. I noticed Abby didn’t look at the lawyer, just kept her face buried against me, and I wondered for the millionth time what had been done to her. “Set him up.”
Chadwick’s lawyerly physique was no match for Remi’s strength. Forcing the man over to where Redding lay on the ground, he took the gun I passed him—Rathlin’s gun—and pressed it into Chadwick’s trembling hand.
“You can’t— There’ll be fingerprints. You’ll—”
Remi leaned in. “Latex gloves. The only fingerprints will be yours and Rathlin’s. We’ll let the police sort out which of you is guilty.”
“But…but…” Chadwick’s words degenerated into meaningless rubble as Remi took aim at Redding’s heart, his fingers over Chadwick’s on the gun. When Remi “helped” him pull the trigger, Chadwick fainted.
