Page 88 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

Cash’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You let a woman half your size take you down?”

“She played up the injured card, boss. What did you want me to do?”

“Not let her knee you in the balls,” Cash retorted.

I rushed over to him, placing my hand on his, begging with him to drop the knife. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

“We need answers.”

“I’ll never tell you anything!” the man shouted. “Do you think the government hasn’t been here before? Those electrodes didn’t work on me then, and they won’t work now!”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Cash, he doesn’t deserve this. There’s another way.”

“You heard him, he won’t talk.”

“Please,” I said, stepping back as I pulled the gun from my pocket, the same one he had given me earlier. I quickly glanced at the gun, noting the safety was on. “Don’t make me shoot you.”

“You gave her a gun?” Jones asked incredulously.

“I thought you were a traitor,” Cash shot back at Jones. “What did you expect me to do?”

“Still, she doesn’t even know how to shoot!”

“I took out a fire alarm,” I said defensively.

“It’s true,” Fox answered glumly.

“Eva,” Cash said calmly. “You’re more likely to injure yourself than anyone around here. Put it down.”

“No,” I shook my head. “This man doesn’t deserve this.” I moved to stand beside the man, keeping my gaze trained on the people around us. “Sir, I don’t know who you are, but you could very well help me.”

“There’s no way I’d help you,” he spat.

“See?” Cash sighed.

I shot him a death glare and continued. “My aunt ran away with a man named Noah after I caught a very corrupt governor in a secret meeting with a drug dealer. I’ve been on the run ever since. Now, with the help of these men and woman, I have the power to take this guy down. But Noah has the information I need. He has the evidence, and without it, they’ll eventually catch up to me and kill me. I’ll be another sacrificial lamb at the hands of the government,” I said, really playing up his conspiracies about the government. “You know they’ll cover it up. It’s what they do. They take and take and take, but they never actually help the people. And all along, they’re just trying to gain more power for themselves. We can’t let them get away with it,” I pleaded. “If you help me, we can end this!”

By the end of my speech, he had his head tilted down to me, and he was staring at me with a kind of impassioned expression that gave me hope.

“And what will you do with the information?”

“I will take it to every media outlet. I have video of him saying he’s been stealing from the state. I have evidence that he’s been profiting off drug cartels. And I also have a ledger of every single person he worked with, some of them even higher up in government than himself.”

“And Noah has this evidence?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “He pulled it off the cloud when I uploaded it. If you know Noah, you understand why he would run and hide. He knew what would happen if anyone found out he had it. Please,” I said, making my final move.

I slid my hand up to his cheek, staring intently at him as everyone watched on with shocked looks on their faces. “Don’t let him get away with this. Help me take down him and his cronies.”

He took a stuttering breath and nodded. “I’ll help you.”

I wrapped my arm around his body and gave him a squeeze. “Thank you so much.”

I nodded at Cash, who walked over in confusion, cutting the man down from the beam. “If you attempt to hurt her in any way, I’ll slit you from ear to ear.”

The man cleared his throat. “She’s the only one I wouldn’t hurt. Bunch of brutes,” he muttered under his breath.

After Cash removed all the rope, he walked over to a spot in the corner and lifted a hatch. “My equipment is downstairs. Join me if you want.”

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