Settling an Old Score - Delores Fossen Page 0,60

the hall. And Eli’s stomach went to his knees, because he knew that Remy was talking about Ashlyn.

“I’ll take her instead of Dominick,” Remy went on. “She’s not as likely to put up a fight, and I’m betting Kellan or you won’t fire any shots at me if I’ve got Ashlyn with me.”

“You’re not taking Ashlyn,” Eli snapped, though he wasn’t sure how he managed to speak with everything churning even harder inside him.

Remy’s gaze slashed straight to Eli’s. “Then I start shooting. You don’t want that to happen because like you said, the kid could get hurt. I’m betting Ashlyn will come with me to stop that from happening.”

“I will,” Ashlyn said.

Eli didn’t look back at her. He didn’t want to take his attention off Remy, but he wanted to give her a back-off warning. No way was Eli going to let her leave with Remy. In the man’s state of mind, he could kill her.

“Take me hostage,” Eli insisted. “Kellan and Gunnar won’t fire if I’m with you.”

Eli could see Remy considering that. And he also saw him dismiss it. “I want Ashlyn. She’s likely to give me less trouble than you would.”

Yes, she was less likely because she wouldn’t be able to defend herself against Remy, who was much larger than she was. Which was another reason why she wasn’t leaving with him.

“I won’t be armed,” Eli said, trying again to reason with Remy. “I’d leave my gun here.”

Again, Remy considered that, and this time there wasn’t an immediate dismissal. Not from Remy anyway, but Eli heard Ashlyn mutter a soft “no.” There was plenty of emotion in that single word. Especially plenty of fear, because she had to know just how dangerous Remy was right now.

“All right, Eli, we’ll deal,” Remy finally answered. “Put down your gun and have Gunnar cuff you. I want your hands behind your back. Then you and I will walk out of here and go to the cruiser.”

The cuffing wasn’t ideal because Eli wouldn’t be able to fight back, but he trusted Kellan to stop Remy before they could make it to the cruiser.

Remy’s eyes narrowed even more than they already were when he looked at Eli. “If you try to pull anything stupid, I start shooting. The kid could get hurt.”

Eli hoped like the devil that Gloria had stayed in the tub with Cora. While he was hoping, he added that they were all right. He could no longer hear the baby crying, so maybe that meant she’d gone back to sleep.

“Here’s my gun,” Eli said, sliding it across the floor toward Remy. He had a backup, but Remy didn’t ask for that.

Remy nodded. “Okay, Gunnar. Get the cuffs on him. And I want to watch you when you do that.”

Eli motioned for Gunnar and him to stand, and he went ahead and shot that warning glance at Ashlyn. She was still there in the doorway. Still had a grip on a gun that she had aimed in Remy’s direction.

When Eli stood, he eased his hands behind him, and Gunnar moved closer so he could start putting on the plastic cuffs.

“Remember, no tricks,” Remy warned them. “If you pull anything, I shoot, and it wouldn’t be my fault. It’d be yours if the kid gets hurt.”

Dominick made a deep throaty growl of outrage, and while Eli could understand why the man was furious with Remy’s threat, it wasn’t a good time for Dominick to be anything but cooperative. Dominick, though, obviously had something different in mind.

Something that could get them all killed.

“This ends now,” Dominick spat out, and before the last word had even left his mouth, he whirled around. In the same motion, he took hold of Remy and slung the man across the room.

Remy slammed against Eli, sending them both to the floor.

And Remy pulled the trigger.

Chapter Sixteen

The sound of the shot was deafening, and it was like a blast roaring through Ashlyn’s head. She could have sworn she felt the vibration of it all the way to her bones.

She also felt the slam of fear that quickly followed.

Oh God. Had Remy managed to shoot Eli? Or had the bullet gone into the bathroom where Cora was?

She fired glances all around her but didn’t see the signs of where any gunshot had landed. However, she did hear Gloria and Cora. Cora was crying, causing Ashlyn’s fear to spike even more.

“Cora!” Ashlyn shouted.

“We’re okay,” Gloria called out. “We’re not hurt.”

The relief came flooding through her. Her baby hadn’t been