Movement catches my eyes, and my gaze drops. There, behind my surfboard rack, is Bear. He looks like he’s been hit again, but he glances up at me, out of sight from Johnny and his boys, and holds a finger to his lips. He brings his gun up a gives it a shake, and I nod as quietly as I can.
“Get down, baby girl,” I whisper.
“West?”
“Just get down, and cover your ears,” I growl. I glance at Bear, and he holds up three fingers.
“The girl, asswipe,” Johnny yells. “Now, or we’re coming in there shooting until we get what we want. Understand?”
I glance at Bear, and he holds up three fingers again, and then two.
“Hey asshole,” I spit at Johnny. “Get fucked.”
Bear holds up one finger, and then makes a fist. It’s go time. He pops up firing, and so do I from behind my doorway. Bear knocks off one, and I pop another. Johnny screeches and ducks behind the Jeep as Bear and I move out from our cover and advance.
My eyes sweep the sand… one body, two… fuck. I look at Bear the same time he looks at me, and my gut clenches.
“Where the fuck is four—”
“West!”
It’s like a knife in my gut, and when I turn, it twists there. The fourth asshole has slipped around the house through my backdoor while we’ve been shooting. I know this, because now he’s standing at the top of my steps on my porch, one arm around Taylor’s neck, and a gun pointed at her head.
I snarl and lunge for them, but the man shakes his head.
“Uh-uh!” he hisses. He’s shaking, and clearly in way deeper than he signed up for. But that doesn’t change that he’s got a gun to her fucking head.
“Not another step!” He frowns. “Hey, boss?”
“Nice work, dumbass!”
I glance back and smirk when I see Johnny with his hands up in the air in his knees with Bear keeping him there with his gun.
“Look at me,” I hiss to the guy. He looks like he’s losing whatever cool he had left, and fast. And that’s not fucking good right now.
“Stay back!” He warbles out.
“Look at me,” I hiss. “This ain’t your fight, and she’s got nothing to do with this anyways. Let her go, man. Let her go, and I swear I’ll drop this gun, okay?”
He swallows, his eyes darting from me, to his boss, to Bear, to me again.
“Uh… Boss?”
“Not him!” I hiss, moving closer with my gun raised. My eyes go to hers, and hers lock on mine. And I know no matter what, there is no fucking way this asshole is going to harm a hair on her head. Not today, not fucking ever.
“Last chance, man,” I growl. “Just walk away. It’s that easy.”
“No, it ain’t!” he sobs. He presses the gun harder to her head, and I swallow the roar. He’s losing it, and that means this is about to go nuclear.
My eyes swivel to her, and hers lock on mine.
“Had some fun earlier,” I smile through my fear and rage. “Surfing, I mean.”
She frowns, paling.
“You were a natural, baby girl,” I growl.
She frowns. “West?”