Page 95 of Parker

His friend nudged him with his elbow, giving him a questioning thumbs up.

Shaking his future plans away, Parker responded with a nod of his head and a thumb of his own. Hell yeah, he was ready. More than.

Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ve got you now.

Maddox and Asher straightened their spines, their weapons held steady in preparation. With his own gun between his fist, Parker pushed away all thoughts of failure as he and the others cleared the southwest corner of the metal structure.

And then he saw her.

Standing too damn close to the roof’s elevated edge, Victor McMahon stood as he had downstairs. With the barrel of his gun pressed against her temple and his other arm locked tightly around Quinn’s chest, the son of a bitch was using her as a human shield.

Again.

He didn’t dare look at her. If he did, if Parker would see the utter terror he knew she had to be feeling. He was afraid the fiery rage billowing up inside him would win.

So he kept his sights on McMahon…and that fucking gun.

“Put your weapon down and let the girl go!” Winters’ barked order came from Parker’s left.

Every man there had their own guns pointed directly at the piece of shit’s head. Problem was the guy wasn’t that much taller than Quinn.

No matter where they were standing, there wasn’t a single clean shot between the six of them.

“Stay back, or I’ll kill her!” McMahon yelled back.

Half a beat later, Quinn shouted for them to, “Shoot him!”

“My finger’s already on this trigger,” their target warned. “You shoot me, my hand will flex, and her brains will be all over this fucking roof!”

Parker refused to let the image those words painted enter his head. Instead, he kept his gun steady, and his gaze focused.

“There’s nowhere to go, McMahon!” Kellan pointed out. “The only move you have is to drop that gun and let her go.”

“I can’t!” The panicked man shook his head wildly. “I can’t go back to prison.”

“It’s either that or a body bag,” Maddox didn’t bother sugar-coating the guy’s options. “Your choice.”

“What the hell are you waiting for?” Quinn’s angry voice traveled with the chilly breeze. “Just shoot him already!”

Parker did look at her then, his body becoming tense even as his heart filled. Her cheek and eye were bruised, the skin near her jaw reddened from what he assumed was her most recent blow. But even as he fought the urge to throw caution to the wind for the sake of revenge, he realized there was something missing.

Something he’d expected to see in her reflective gaze.

She’s not scared anymore.

The fear he’d seen earlier was gone. Her heart stopping gaze no longer wide with terror or wild with hysteria. Instead Quinn’s baby blues were razor sharp, their intense gaze remaining locked onto his.

She wants you to do it. She wants you to shoot McMahon.

Except he couldn’t. Not without potentially shooting her in the process. And that was something he would never, ever—

“I won’t go back!” McMahon screamed as he swung his gun in Parker’s direction.

At the same time, Quinn turned as much as she could to the right, jabbing her elbow backward as hard as she could while simultaneously reaching for the gun.

No!

A wild shot rang out, but no one returned fire because theystilldidn’t have a clean shot. And McMahon knew it.

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