Page 133 of Hold On

“Yes.” That lie detector needle was in deep space now and still going.

Levan fired into the wall opposite.

“I think he’s hiding,” Levan said. “Well, hewashiding.” He turned and shot Herb in the head.

The guy seemed to crumple in slow motion. “That’s for not checking whether his leg was broken or not.” Then he shot the other guy. “That’s for not securing them properly. Idiots.”

“We need to leave,” Tengiz said. “If he did get away, there could be police coming.”

Ren was bundled downstairs. He did nothing to help but that wasn’t deliberate. He was in shock. Coordination was beyond him. The shots should have missed Dominic.Should have…But if he’d been sitting up…Don’t think about it. You’ll fall apart. Fuck! Where was Foster?

“What’s happened?” Irma asked.

“Just making sure his friend couldn’t join us,” Levan said. “Leave now. Set fire to the house.”

Jesus!

“Where’s Herb?”

Levan just looked at her and raised his gun. “Really want to know?”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head.

Ren was horrified.Set the house on fire?There was no way Dominic could get out of the eaves with all those boxes in the way. He tried to jerk free from Tengiz and managed to get loose, only to run into the arms of Badri and Eldar.

“In the car now,” Levan snapped. “Get those other vehicles out of here.”

Ren struggled but he was no match for these guys. Moments later, he was in the back seat of the Mercedes next to Levan. Tengiz was in the front and Badri was driving. Ren tried to open the door as the car started up but it was locked.

“Want to leave me already after we’ve just been reunited?” Levan pushed the gun under Ren’s chin.

“Fuck you.”

“I’ll fuck you soon, my pet. Then we’ll let my gun have you again. But this time I’ll pull the trigger to make sure you come with a bang.” He laughed.

Ren shuddered.

Badri was accelerating down the road and Ren put his seat belt on.

Levan chuckled. “Don’t feel happy with Badri’s driving?”

Ren didn’t answer. If Foster was going to do something now, it would have to be a roadblock. Ren was safer with a belt on.

But no roadblock materialised and he fell into a dark place.

Dominic froze with shock when bullets slammed into the wall. When one hit his leg, he slammed his hand over his mouth to muffle his scream. The first one had gone right over his head. If he’d been sitting up, it would have hit him. He flinched when he heard more being fired but they didn’t come in his direction.

He grabbed one of the Christmas cushions and pressed it on his thigh. At least the bullet had hit the leg that was broken.Whoopee-do. Shit!It hurt. More shots followed but judging by the thuds that followed, he was fairly certain that two people had been hit and when he heard what was said, he knew he was right. At least Ren was still alive.

Dominic heard them leave and he knew he had to get out of there, but that was easier said than done. He moved forward a bit at a time by lifting Christmas stuff past him, but there wasn’t much room.

It was exhausting, and his leg was hurting and bleeding, and he just wanted someone to help him. And to help Ren. Maybe Ren thought he was dead. Where was the help that Ren said was coming? Maybe he should just lie there and wait, but maybe Ren hadn’t told anyone where he was… And what if the bleeding didn’t stop?Oh fuck.

Then he smelled smoke. For a moment he tried to convince himself he was wrong. But he wasn’t. Dominic picked up the boxes and shoved them behind him as quickly as he could, but some were so heavy, they got stuck as he tried to manoeuvre them. He wanted to scream with frustration. But he kept going. One box at a time. He threw the smaller containers over his head, apologising mentally to the family who lived here, but there wasn’t time to be careful.

When he spotted the shadowy edge of the door, the light from the bullet holes just making it visible, he bit back his sob of relief. He gingerly pushed it open to see a haze of smoke in the air. He assumed they’d set fire to the house before they’d left. Dominic couldn’t easily get out feet-first with his ankles fastened together, so he backed out into the bedroom. When he turned, he saw two bodies on the floor, the carpet wet with blood.

He took the cushion off his leg and looked at the hole in his jeans, the ragged flesh beneath. He wasn’t bleeding so much now but the pain… It was the sheer variety of ache that blocked his throat. It came from not just his leg but places he didn’t think had been hurt. For a long moment, he wondered if he’d been shot elsewhere.

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