“Is he the one who nearly killed me in the locker room?” Noelle asked.
Jessica huffed. “Honey, if he’d wanted to kill you, he would have. We were being thorough. We hadn’t thought to check the lockers. You interrupted him. Then Pete almost caught him. I’m probably going to kill that little fucker, too.”
“You can’t think you’re going to get away with this. There’s a federal investigation.” Noelle’s voice trembled.
Hutch made it to the top step. He was safe in the shadows. There was less light in the dungeon than there had been downstairs. He moved toward the lounge where one day he would sit with Noelle on his lap, talking to his friends and relaxing.
Because there was no way this was the end.
Noelle was moving down the stairs from the third floor, carefully using her cane and holding the railing. Two guards were at the bottom, and a third stood behind Layne. That left one unaccounted for, but he had to take the chance.
MaeBe was on the floor, close to the guard near Layne. She was so still he worried she was already dead.
“Isn’t there always?” Jessica mused. “I’m a powerful woman. Someone always wants to take me down, but they can’t. They try and try, but I’m better than they are. I’m smarter. I understand the world.”
“You lie and cheat and steal. You make nothing.” Noelle sounded stronger now.
“I make the world,” Layne snarled back. “You think your ideas mean something? Without me you’re nothing. You’re all sad, pathetic creatures who have no idea how the world works. You see, Noelle, in this life you’re either a queen or a peasant. There’s no in between. The feds can try, but I assure you I’ll come out stronger than ever, and then I’ll make those feds pay. The key is to not give up. If someone hurts you, never let up. I’ll sue them all, and when they run out of money, I’ll keep talking. I control the narrative. The press sees what I want them to see, and then one day the little investigator will take some pills because they won’t be able to handle what I throw at them. So you’re going to give me what I want and pray I don’t decide to go after your family.”
He moved around one of the pillars. He was still fifty feet away, and Noelle had no cover. Then he saw something moving across the dungeon. A shadow, shifting past the equipment.
Michael was here.
“I could find a way to sue that father of yours,” Layne continued. “Law enforcement is easy. One little scandal and they’re done. Or that clinic your stepmom runs. I can bankrupt them in a heartbeat. You know what? That’s a much better threat. Bentley, you can kill the girl. We’ll leave her here.”
Noelle cried out and the guard next to MaeBe turned, but MaeBe twisted her body, kicking her foot up and catching the fucker in his dick. A shot rang out and Michael moved in, firing once and catching the man who’d been about to kill MaeBe.
The two guards near Noelle started to fire Michael’s way. Noelle proved she wasn’t some shrinking violet. She brought her cane up and knocked the guard to her right in the head.
Hutch stepped out and fired, hitting the guard to Noelle’s right, but not before he got a shot off. Hutch felt fire light through his left side, but he couldn’t give in to that pain. He pushed forward, firing the second guard’s way. “Take cover, Noelle.”
Noelle moved straight for MaeBe, huddling over the other woman.
They were going to have a long talk about the meaning of the word cover.
Layne started running for the stairs, panicking and proving she let other people do her dirty work.
Hutch took out the other guard. Four down, and Layne could run but she couldn’t hide because he heard the sweet sound of sirens.
Where was number five?
Then he felt his left side explode with pain again and realized that number five had been coming up behind him. He’d been somewhere in the lounge.
Hutch stumbled but made it to Noelle in time to put his body over hers.
A big figure in all black pointed a gun his way. “Guess if I’m going to jail, I should do some crime.”
Hutch heard Noelle crying but he tensed, praying Michael would at least be able to save the women.
A knife thudded into the man’s eye. Even through his pain, Hutch recognized that had been a hell of a throw. The sight was both beautiful and utterly horrific. It caused the man to drop his gun, and then his torso was peppered with shots.
Hutch managed to turn, and Kyle was standing at the top of the stairs. He started to limp over, and Hutch saw his chest was wrapped in…was that duct tape?