“What do you need?” Owen asked. “Tell me how to help you. Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Finn, Bria, Xavier, Silvio, and I are still at the station, but we’re going to the parking lot right now. We’ll get there as fast as we can.”
His words warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face as I unlocked and opened the back door, ready to step out into the alley and make my escape—
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Bullets slammed into the doorframe, and I saw three cops standing in the alley, guns up, firing at my location.
I cursed, ducked back inside, and shut the door. The cops had already blocked off the back of the building, but I didn’t want them getting inside, so I threw the locks and toppled a metal shelf full of ketchup bottles in front of the door for good measure.
“Gin?” Owen asked, his voice sharpening with worry. “What’s that noise? What’s happening?”
I didn’t have time to answer him as I shoved through the double doors and ran back out into the storefront. Looked like I’d have to risk using the car after all.
Outside, the street was still clear. My heart lifted. I was going to make it out of here after all—
Madeline Monroe stepped into sight.
I hesitated, just for a second, but that was long enough for Emery Slater to appear beside her, with Jonah McAllister and Captain Lou Dobson on the other side. Behind them, blue and white lights flashed, and several police cars screech-screech-screeched to a halt at the intersections. Even if I could have taken out Madeline, Emery, Jonah, and Dobson, there was no way I could get past the cops at the ends of the blocks without getting pumped full of bullets.
Trapped—I was trapped inside the Pork Pit.
14
“Gin?” Owen asked again, his voice louder and more worried than ever before. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”
“Madeline’s outside the restaurant,” I said, my voice calm, even as my mind churned and churned, trying to think of a way out of this. “The cops have the Pork Pit surrounded.”
Owen sucked in a ragged breath. “Gin”—his voice came out as a low, agonized whisper—“tell me that you can get out of there. Please, please tell me that.”
More and more cops arrived, stopping their cars at both ends of the block and cordoning it off, the blue and white lights on their vehicles spinning around and around. Some of the cops took up positions behind their cars, using the open doors as shields, while others jogged down the street and out of sight, no doubt to further block off the alley behind the restaurant.
“I’m sorry, Owen.”
He let out a choked cry, the anguished sound piercing my heart, but I forced myself to tune him out and to concentrate on the most important thing right now—staying alive.
Madeline stepped up to the front door of the Pork Pit. Still clutching the phone to my ear, I approached the door from my side until only about five feet separated us. We stared at each other through the empty space where the glass had been.
“I knew that you’d come straight here.” Madeline shook her head as though I’d disappointed her. “So predictable, Gin. I expected more from you.”
“Let’s see, I took out five inmates all by my lonesome, escaped your bull pen of death, and busted out of the police station,” I drawled back. “I think that I’m doing pretty well so far, considering that you and your proxies haven’t been able to kill me yet.”
She shrugged. “It’s only a matter of time now. We both know that. The entire restaurant is surrounded. There’s no escape for you, Gin. Not this time.”
Through the phone, I could hear Owen cursing Madeline for all that he was worth. Yeah. Me too.
Still, I kept my face calm as I stared her down. “I might die here tonight, but you’re not going to get off so easy. How are you going to explain this? I doubt that even your pet stool pigeon there can cover up all of this. Especially since I left such a glaring reminder of my presence back at the police station.”
Madeline gave me a thoughtful look, then glanced at Dobson. “You know, Gin, I think you’re right. Best to cut off any loose ends now.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Dobson growled, glaring at me through one of the windows. “I can handle everything, just like I promised, just like I have so far.”
“Sure,” I mocked. “If letting me kill four people, escape police custody, steal a car, and roar out of your own impound yard is your idea of handling things.”
“You fucking bitch!” he yelled.
The giant drew his gun out of his holster and started firing at me.
Crack!
Crack! Crack!
Crack!
But instead of punching through the window and then my skull, the bullets snagged in the thick glass, with spiderweb cracks zigzagging out in all directions from the sharp impacts.
“Bulletproof glass,” I said, leaning to one side of the cracks so that Dobson had a clear view of my smug smile. “A girl’s best friend.”
He growled and started to raise his gun again, but Madeline sidled over to him. “Here,” she said, holding out her hand. “Let me.”
He reluctantly handed over his weapon, and Madeline strode back to the door with its busted-out glass. She raised the gun, aiming it at me through the open space. I tensed, ready to dive out of the way and reach for my Stone magic to harden my body—
But Madeline whipped around and shot Dobson instead.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Madeline was an excellent marksman, and three holes appeared in his chest, clustered right over his black heart, while the fourth bullet punched through the middle of his throat. Blood bubbled out of his lips, and he choked and choked, as if he could actually cough up the bullet lodged in his neck. Dobson teetered back and forth for a moment, staring at Madeline in disbelief, before dropping to the sidewalk.
I looked past the dead giant, expecting to see the cops leave their vehicles behind and sprint in this direction. But Dobson must have told them that he was taking care of things and to stay back, because the other officers held their positions at the ends of the block, although I could hear their hoarse shouts of Shots fired! Shots fired!
Madeline turned her attention to me again. “You’re right, Gin. Dobson would never be able to explain all of this away. But now I can.”
She stepped forward. I tensed again, wondering if she was going to shoot at me, but she only threw the gun in through the shattered door pane. The weapon tumbled end over end before clattering to a stop at my feet.