the other is in the lobby. The other floors look clear, but the second the elevator moves, I have a feeling they will both descend on you. We are ten minutes out, Viddy,” he warns because he knows exactly what I’m about to do.
“Well, then you’d better put your foot down, Danny,” I answer before hanging up. The phone rings immediately again, but I ignore it. I’m about to shove it back in my bag when I see who’s calling.
Fuck. I don’t have time for this.
I answer but don’t get to speak before Reid growls down the phone at me. “Where the fuck did you disappear to?” Is his way of greeting me, his tone arctic cold compared to his usual honey-laced voice.
“I had shit to do. Besides, you disappeared first. I didn’t know how long you were going to be or if you were even going to come back at all. Now if you’re done bitching, I’m kinda busy.”
Ben chooses that moment to groan loudly. Reid is deadly quiet for a moment before his voice turns lethal. “Who is that?” he snaps.
My, my, my, does someone sound jealous? If I wasn’t so pissed that I was being shot at, I would have laughed.
“That would be Ben, my driver. He just took a bullet meant for me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to send one back.”
“What? Where the fuck are you?” he roars down my ear, loud enough for me to pull the phone away with a frown.
“Jesus, Reid, I’m at my apartment,” I answer, then hang up and toss the phone back in my bag.
I take a deep breath and focus. Instead of getting the elevator to switch floors giving both guys a chance to corner me, I decide to stay where I am and deal with the one asshole first.
So that’s what I do, dragging Ben’s heavy body into the corner so he has some protection against stray bullets. He groans again, his eyes snapping open and landing on mine as he reaches out and grips my arms hard enough to leave bruises.
“Who the fuck?” His words are slurred for a second as his brain starts to clear.
“It’s Viddy. You were shot. I need you to focus for a moment, Ben. In two minutes, I’m going to open these doors and start firing. You need to take cover. I hate that you’re caught up in this, but until I can take them out, we’re stuck here. The guys are on their way, but I want to know who sent these assholes and why.”
His pale face looks at me with a grimace as his shoulder wound makes itself known. “Okay, don’t worry about me, just do what you have to. But for fuck’s sake, be careful.”
I nod and move to the other side of the elevator, using the panel next to the door for cover, knowing this guy will be ready for me. It’s just going to be a case of who shoots first. The only difference is, I have a small amount of cover, whereas the shooter will be completely exposed in the wide-open hallway.
I hit the button to open the doors and drop to the floor with my gun raised. As soon as feet come into view, I fire, aiming to cause damage, not to kill. I have questions that need answering.
He stumbles back onto the now bloodstained light gray carpet, but he still has his gun, so I fire again, hitting him in the shoulder. The gun falls to the ground beside him, and before he can reach for it, I’m on him, straddling his chest with my gun pointed at his head. He freezes, looking up at me as I reach for his gun and toss it away.
“Hi,” I say cordially, as if we were bumping into each other in a coffee shop. “Can I help you with something?”
He swallows hard before looking toward the stairwell door.
Yes, mister, I’m well aware of your friend, but I also know the door squeaks, so I’ll hear it if anyone tries to push through it.
“You’re making a mistake,” he warns me, making me laugh out loud at his audacity.
“You came to my home and shot at me, and you have the balls to tell me I’m making a mistake.”
“I wasn’t shooting at you, I was aiming for Jude,” he cries out when I press my fingers into his shoulder wound.
“Well, the guy lying in a pool of his own blood isn’t Jude, it’s Ben, and Ben’s