Chapter 228
(TYLER)
We wait in the silence, just wait there to be found.
I try to calm my breathing, try to match the slow pace of Sasha’s, try to think. If they need Sasha alive, Burgess and Marco might have a chance to take out the shooters before they kill us instead. I feel my way to Sasha’s neck and press shaking fingers against his pulse, reassuring myself that he is still alive.
The beat in his neck is steady but not strong, and all I can hope is that he’s not bleeding out.
“Over here,” snaps a voice outside.
And there’s a bang on the door of our hiding place, like it’s been kicked. Lights begin to flash in the plexiglass window set into the door, but it’s so dusty I can’t tell if they’ve seen us.
I kneel up and press my face into Sasha’s neck, into his hair, and breathe him in.
“Come on out,” shouts the Irish voice, “and we won’t kill you. We just want you, Tyler p>
What the fuck? I raise my head so sharply that my neck cracks painfully, and catch Marco’s eyes in the shaking lights from outside. He’s looking straight back at me, as stunned as I am. He shakes his head.
We’re looking for Tyler,” shouts the voice again. “Come out and you won’t be hurt p>
I rise up on my knees. Marco makes furious get down motions with his hand, but I ignore him. Burgess is staring at me as though I might suddenly turn on her.
“Come on, now,” coaxes the voice outside. “We all know you don’t want to put all those folks in there with you at risk, now do you? Think of them p>
After a short silence, the Irishman says, “Come on out, now p>
“I’ll come out,” I call back to the men. “But you need to promise the people in here with me won’t be hurt. They’re hospital staff. They have nothing to do with this p>
There’s a short, whispered conference outside, and I can hear them all coming close to the door.
“Sure,” the man says, not shouting this time. He’s right up against the door. “You come with us, Tyler, there’ll be no need for further bloodshed p>
I spot Sasha’s gun on the floor and pick it up, checking that the safety is off. “One more thing,” I say, and I sound so calm to my own ears it’s like someone else’s voice. I get to my feet. “I know you need me alive. So listen carefully. I’m holding a gun to my head. If any of you start shooting at anyone in this box, I’ll blow my brains out myself p>
Silence.
“Capisce?” I say, and then add, “If you know me like you think you do, then you know I’ll do it p>
“Sit down and shut up,” Marco hisses behind me, but he’s got Darla curled up in the corner behind him and doesn’t dare move. I point at Burgess and then at Sasha. She scrambles over quietly to position herself in front of him, in case these motherfuckers do open fire when I go out the door. Because I am most definitely going out the door, and I have no other bargaining chips to play except this one: my own life.
The man outside gives a vicious chuckle. “So it’s true, eh? That famous death wish really does exist. Alright, Tyler. Come on out. We won’t shoot p>
“I want your word,” I say stubbornly, and I hold the gun up to my head. My hand is even shaking. From behind me, I hear a woman gasp. I don’t know if it’s Burgess or Darla. “You have it p>
“I want your word p>
He snorts. “Fine, fine. You have my word p>
I really hope Burgess understands. If these men do just take me and leave the others alive, I need her to know who they are. Maybe they’re rivals to the Adonises.. But they’re much more likely to be the rogue Irish mafia, the ones affiliated with Wesley’s family, or their allies.
I assume they want me as a hostage. Maybe to keep Sasha in line. Maybe to force me to do their bidding, whatever that might be. But that’s fine; alive and kidnapped is better than dead and buried, and I’m used to being held against my will. It’s happened too often to me now to worry about it all that much.
But maybe they’re lying, and they’ll kill me after all when I open the door.
“Move back from the door,” I instruct them. “And stay back.” I turn again to Burgess and Marco. “Shoot when you can,” I murmur.
Burgess gives one sharp nod, her eyes still on the door. Marco still looks furious, but eventually nods his agreement. I turn back to the door, clear my throat, and say loudly, “I’m coming out p>
I slam the handle down and let the door swing open. The gun barrel is pressed painfully hard into my temple, as though the hand holding it is not my own. Outside, the three men are standing spread out, only one of them directly in front of me, and I’m pretty sure neither Burgess nor Marco have a clear shot.
I try to stay in front of Burgess for now so at least they won’t see she’s got a gun on them.
“Put that down now, Tyler,” says the man in front of me. “I’d hate for it to go off accidentally p>
They haven’t shot me yet, so my guess is they really do need me alive.
“No,” I say, and take a step forward. “No, I don’t think so p>
“Alright, alright. If it makes you feel safer,” he says jovially. “Come on, now, towards me p>
I’m just outside the doorway of the freezer when it happens. The outer kitchen doors bang open again, and the three men in the room swing around in surprise. A dark, shadowy figure slinks through, low to the ground, and I squeeze my eyes shut as the whole room explodes with the noise of gunfire.