Highest Bidder Collection - Lauren Landish Page 0,253

the living room though. I only need to get these assholes to follow me in there. But that’s closer to Lilly. Fuck! I try not to clench my jaw and ball my hands into fists at the thought.

I’m not sure if these men know she’s here. I can’t risk them finding out. I wish I could tell her to run. To hide. I wish I could go back in time and never speak to her, never corrupt her with the sins of my past.

If only I could. I’d give it all up to keep her safe.

“You know how this ends Joe,” the one man says to my left. He’s nearly bald and short, his leather jacket is slightly too big. The man on his right is much taller; his military cut giving him an edge over the other fuck face. Both of them are holding their guns loose. They’re both arrogant. They think they’ve won. I take in a deep breath, quickly coming up with a plan. Something. Anything to keep her from them.

The bald man continues to point his gun at me as the other man asks, “we just need the code’s for your safe.” I huff a grunt. Of course. Money. It’s always about the money.

“And why would I tell you that?” I ask with a grin that doesn’t reflect a single thing I’m feeling.

“Because if you do, we won’t make you watch what we’re gonna do to your girl.” He smiles a crooked grin, showing his yellowed teeth. “We’ll put you out of your misery first.” The bald man’s answer chills my blood. My heart pounds in my chest.

As I swallow thickly, registering what they’re saying and trying not to give into the urge to beat the piss out of him, I see movement over the tall man’s right shoulder.

Lilly.

I swear my heart stops. What the fuck is she doing.

“You need to go back where you came from.” I tell the man standing in front of me, but I’m not speaking to him. I wish I could look at her as I talk, but I can’t. I’m afraid they’ll follow my eyesight, turn around and see her.

I’m fucking pissed as I say the same words louder. Both men seem thrown off by the command in my voice, but I don’t care. I can’t even think about them. She needs to listen. She needs to get out of here.

I dare to take a step forward when the floor creaks with Lilly’s steps, it distracts them enough that they don’t hear her; both men point their guns at my head. “You should go hide.” I tell them, a sick grin on my face with false confidence in my voice. Run Lilly!

Lilly must know that I’m speaking to her, but she doesn’t listen. Of all the times I need her to just listen to me, now is the time. But she doesn’t, she continues forward, entering the foyer and holding the gun in her hands high, pointing at the tall man to my right.

“You have two minutes Joe,” the bald man says. “Nikki here,” he sticks his thumb out pointing to the other man and turns his head slightly to look at him. My heart jumps up my throat when he does, because as he turns to look at his partner, he catches sight of Lilly. I see it all happen in slow motion.

Fuck!

He shouts and raises his gun at her, whipping around on his heels and I react instantaneously, pushing forward with all of my weight, shoving him down to the ground. All the sounds and screams turn to white noise, my lungs freezing, my heart beating frantically. A rush of heat takes over my body, nearly numbing me. I’ve never felt so much fear in my life.

“Run!” I yell at Lilly as several gunshots go off at once. Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lilly; not Lilly. My throat hurts from my screams as I fight for the gun. Trying to keep him from shooting it, but trying to look at Lilly. Run! Just run!

I hear her shrill scream as another bullet echoes off the wall. A stray piece of drywall falling into pieces and landing on the bald man’s face. And then another, this one from the gun I’m fighting over. The jolt of the trigger being pulled, loosening the grip this fucker has on it.

The bullet flies through the air and strikes me in my upper forearm. Fuck! I curse under my breath. In and out in the blink of