One heartbeat. Two. Before the third thump vibrates in my chest, indecision becomes hesitation, and hesitation becomes fear. I see it flood the dull gray of his glare. If he had more time to think, he might choose differently, but I’m taking that away from him, forcing his hand. He’s backing down.
I’m sure that on some level he knows there’s still a chance for him. Lance Tonin is who we’re after. He’s the big fish. If Chaps talks, he could make a deal. And I’d say he’ll do just that. As long as we can keep Tonin from getting to him before then. It’s hard to hide from a man like Lance Tonin, especially in a brick building full of criminals with nowhere to go.
“Be smart, man,” I add, tipping the scales even though I know he be shooting anyone now.
Chaps lets the gun drop upside down and swing around on his trigger finger, pointing harmlessly at the wall. Carefully and quietly, I let out the breath I’d been holding.
I nod at him and he pales, like what he’s done is just now sinking in. He gave up his only real advantage. The only leverage either of them had on me was Tommi and Travis. Now I’m in control.
“Throw the gun to me. Get on the ground, face down, hands behind your head.” Resigned, the teacher does as I say. I feel Barber start to squirm again beneath me, no doubt waking from the elbow to the face he got less than a minute ago. With my knee, I kick him in the ribs. Then, as his body folds in on itself, I meet his face with my elbow again. Blood spurts from his wrecked nose and his head lolls to one side.
“Tommi,” I say as I roll Barber onto his belly. “Get the gun. Travis, find me something to tie these two up with.”
Before any of this takes place, though, I hear a sudden bang, like a door being thrown open. It’s followed by the loud order to, “Drop it!”
I don’t even have to turn around to know it’s the cavalry. There’s not a criminal in history that can effectively master that command like an officer of the law.
“Don’t shoot. I’m a cop.” I raise my hands, letting my gun fall around my trigger finger like Chaps did. Slowly, I stand and turn around. Poised just inside the door are two cops, dressed in gear that tells me they were ready to storm this place the minute I texted it in. Black from head to toe, Kevlar vest, face protection, assault rifles at the ready–they’re prepared for war. Behind them, I see four more filing in. There are probably more outside, posted in different positions surrounding this place. “Damn it’s good to see you boys!”
“On your knees!”
I do as I’m told. I know they have to subdue us all until they can confirm who I am. I smile as one of the men quick-steps toward me to kick my gun away. I’m in the home stretch.
It’s not until they haul me up by my cuffed hands that I look around and am reminded of the emptiness of the room again. My satisfaction is somewhat muted.
Shit! I just hope all this wasn’t for nothing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE- TOMMI
I’ve had so many nightmarish days in my life. There have been days of death and violence, blood and crime, loss and grief, but somehow I’ve weathered it all. Never have I felt like dying would be a blessed relief.
Until today.
Today, I experienced more freedom and more betrayal than I’ve ever known. Today, I experienced the love I’ve always craved and the heartache I’ve always dreaded. Today, I experienced truth and lies, sacrifice and selfishness, bliss and desperation, and it’s tearing me apart.
I had Sig. His love, his trust, his understanding, and for a few minutes, I had hope. Real hope. But then, with just a few sentences, it was ripped cruelly from my grasp, from my heart. Now I’m left with the tattered remains of a life that I hated and a future that’s questionable at best. And pain. A lot of pain.
As I sit at the police station, locked in an interrogation room, wondering what’s happening with my brother, I fight back tears. I don’t often allow myself the luxury of tears, or of feeling sorry for myself, but right now I don’t think I can fight either one. All that I’ve done to keep my brother with me, all that I’ve done to pave the way for a better life for us, was a waste. It was all for nothing. Here we are, separated, staring down the barrel of disaster, just like I’ve worked so hard to avoid. All because I trusted. I trusted someone I shouldn’t and it bit me in the butt. Just like I knew it would.
Thinking of Sig, of his betrayal steals my breath. The ache in my chest is so poignant, I lean forward in my chair, resting my forehead on the edge of the cool, metal table, praying that the pain will go away. To think, I was on the verge of telling him that I love him. That would’ve been the cream on top of an already epic fail of a day.
But I didn’t, I didn’t tell him. At least I’ll have my pride–or a little of it, anyway–to keep me company in the tiny cubicle of a prison cell somewhere. What a cold comfort that will be!
The door opens and I bolt upright. My heart both leaps and shatters when I see Sig slip into the room and close himself in with me. He stares at me with those deep, dark eyes, eyes that fooled me. Me, a streetwise, hardened bitch-of-a-girl. A cop got the better of me. And he did it with those eyes. And that smile.
“I hope you’re satisfied,” I snap bitterly, hating the quaver in my voice, resenting the lump in my throat that I have to force the words past.
Sig doesn’t bother to hide how my words crush him. That or he’s just pretending. He’s good at that. Really good. Why he would need to pretend anything at this point, though, is beyond me. Still, there’s no way I’d trust that what I see is real. No. Freakin’. Way.
“How could you even think that? This is not at all how I wanted, how I expected things to turn out. Surely you don’t think I did any of this on purpose.”
“Of course I do! You’re a cop, for godssake. Lying to catch people like me is what you do.”
“This was never about catching you. It was always about Tonin. The only way I planned for this to affect you was to free you. To free you and Travis from whatever hold he had on you.”
“Well, congratulations. We’re free of him all right. Free to spend our lives in misery, separated from each other. Me rotting in prison, Travis rotting in some kind of mental institution somewhere.”