Page 72 of Sawyer
He thought for just a minute he had a shot, but Hector moved, pulling Lele onto her back. If he shot the fucker right now, at this angle of approach, she might catch a head ricochet.
Scanning the room, he spotted Gage. The man was one of the best snipers he'd ever met. And that was saying something because Sawyer was pretty damn good himself.
Tapping his ear com, he whispered, “Gage, can you shift to a position where you can take out that asshole from the way he's facing now?”
Gage looked for a good spot, then nodded. “I can head that way, but it will take me a minute to get there. Somebody's gonna need to distract him. I don't like the look of that syringe he's got.”
Gage was not wrong. He couldn't say for certain what was in that syringe, but the Santiago Cartel was most known for exporting fentanyl. If Hector shot liquid fentanyl into Lele's veins, Sawyer didn't know that she could survive. A dose of pure liquid fentanyl could kill in as quickly as two minutes.
They'd had the foresight to bring Bones with them. But that was pushing it, even for him. Sawyer tapped his ear com again. “Is Bones on com?” he asked, never taking his eyes off his Little girl.
“Here.” Came the reply, Sawyer recognized Bone’s voice.
“Be ready with Narcan,” replied Sawyer, his eyes never leaving Lele.
She was being so damn brave. It gutted him that she had to. He was never going to forgive himself for not telling her everything about Hector when he had the chance. For not warning her, though at that point, he wasn’t really sure she would have believed him.
Hector sliced the zip tie binding her wrists, and for a second, hope flared in Sawyer’s chest. With her hands free, maybe his half-pint could fight. At least enough to distract Hector while Gage got into place.
Hector extinguished that hope as soon as it was born when he spread Leles’s arms wide and pressed a knee down on each of her wrists. Sawyer couldn't tell how hard the man was bearing down, but it looked pretty damn hard. Gage needed to hurry.
Then Lele screamed, and Sawyer took matters into his own hands. “Hey, asshole.”
Hector looked up and froze.
Grabbing his bag, Sawyer surged forward, gun in hand, stalking toward Hector like a predator stalking its prey. At twenty away, Sawyer stopped, dropping his bag. And holding up his hands in a sign of surrender.
Never losing Hector’s eyes, Sawyer said. “How’re you doing, Half-Pint? You okay?”
“I'm fine,” Lele said. But the quiver in her voice betrayed her.
At the same time, Hector said, “She's gonna be dead if you don't back the hell up.”
Sawyer didn't move. Not even so much as the blink of his eyes. He gave Hector nothing. That would give him a clue as to what Sawyer would do next.
Still holding Hector's gaze, Sawyer continued to speak to Lele. “We've talked about telling fibs, babygirl, now, haven't we?”
“Yes, Daddy.” This time, Lee's voice was a little stronger. That was good. He was going to need her to be strong.
A look of disgust crossed Hector’s face. “What kind of kinky shit has he gotten you into? When you've been talking about yourDaddytoday, you were talking about him, weren’t you?”
Now Sawyer smiled. “That she was, Hector. That she was.” He waited, but when Hector said nothing else, Sawyer took the lead. “Now, Hector. We seem to have ourselves a little situation here. There is no reason that everyone can't walk away from this unharmed. The first thing you need to do is get that needle away from my woman's arm.”
Hector laughed. “Now see, I'd love to do that, Sawyer. Trouble is, I have a small problem. How many guns would you say are pointed at me?”
Sawyer had no reason to lie. If Hector was in with the General, he knew all about Sabre Security anyway. “Eight. Minimum”
“Right,” Hector said with a nod. “That’s what I thought. Those odds aren't in my favor. So, I think I'll keep that needle right where it is. Call it insurance.”
Sawyer cocked his head. “Your hands seem to be shaking, Hector. I think the odds of you accidentally shooting a syringe full of poison into my girl are much better than any of my brothers shooting you in cold blood. If you push that plunger… even by accident… your odds drop to zero. Your security is gone, and you are a dead man.”
“I’m willing to risk it,” Hector said.
“Well, I’m not.” Sawyer put his gun on the floor and kicked it away. “Now I’m not armed. That means now it’s only seven guns aimed at you.”
Red patches mark Hector’s cheeks, evidence of his anger, even though his voice remained calm. “I’m not stupid, you know. You think I don’t know my death warrant’s already been signed.”
Lele’s eyes were glued to him. He felt it, but he didn’t dare look at her. His focus had to be on Hector. “I haven’t seen any signatures, Hector. You have the ability to walk out of here free and clear. But the first thing you need to do is put that needle down.”
