Once he’d gotten her fully upright, he went to work on the straps securing her wrists. She shook her head frantically and tried to speak. He frowned. “Sugar, it’s all right. I’m going to get you out of here. Just try to breathe. I’ll get the gag off you in one sec.”
His big fingers fought with the intricate fastenings, and he cursed under his breath. He should’ve brought Jace in; he could’ve worked the equipment with his eyes closed. Finally, one of the straps came free. Brynn grabbed at her mouth, yanking the ball out of it, as he went to work on the next binding.
“Reid,” she whispered, her voice raw.
He kept his eyes focused on the task at hand. “What, baby?”
“Behind you.”
Reid whirled around, and Davis stepped off the bottom stair, a pistol trained on Reid’s chest. “Oh, look. Company. How lovely.”
Reid shifted to the side to stand between Brynn and Davis’s steady hand.
“Sorry, I’m late. I had to take care of your friend out there. Can’t have him interrupting the party,” Davis said, his tone sickeningly calm.
The words hit Reid like one of the bullets in Davis’s gun. Jace.
The councilman walked toward the two of them with deliberate steps and a satisfied smile. “Step away from my slave, Reid. I don’t plan on sharing her like you do.”
Reid’s teeth ground together, the urge to murder this man a living, breathing thing inside him. “I’m not going to let you touch her.”
He smirked. “Roslyn always worried this girl would be your downfall. After all the trouble she’s gone through to keep you two apart, she’ll be so disappointed to see she’s failed.”
Reid’s focus stuttered at the mention of his aunt’s name. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Davis gave a put-upon sigh. “Blackmail, dirty pictures, letting me have my fun with Brynn. I told her you were a lost cause, but she had these ridiculous notions that you could actually make something of yourself.”
Reid stared at gun. All the puzzle pieces were crashing through his brain like jagged pieces of shrapnel, ripping through the fabric of his reality, but he couldn’t lose sight of the situation at hand. He raised his eyes to meet Davis’s. “You’re a fucking lunatic.”
His voice turned colder. “I’m going to ask you one last time to step aside.”
“Go to hell.”
He shrugged and cocked the pistol. “Suit yourself. It’s not going to be much of a matchup. In man versus gun, gun usually wins.”
“Wait,” Brynn said, her hand touching the small of Reid’s back. “Listen to him, Reid. Let him have me.”
Reid’s back stiffened beneath her fingertips as she made the suggestion, but she prayed he would listen. Davis wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. She’d seen the crazy in the councilman’s eyes as he was tying her up. The man had no soul.
“I can’t,” Reid said, his voice strained. “Won’t.”
“You have to. Please, Reid. Listen to what he says and maybe he’ll let us go.”
“He’s not going to let us—”
She slipped the gun from his waistband and pressed the butt of it into his back, hoping he could feel what she was doing. “Please. Move aside like he said.”
“See, my pretty slave wants me to touch her. Now get the fuck out of the way, and maybe I’ll let you watch.”
Reid glanced over his shoulder, giving her a pointed glace, and mouthed the word “one.” She nodded, counting the next numbers in her head.
Two.
Three.
In one swift motion, he took a wide step to the left. Automatically, Davis’s gaze and pistol followed the movement, giving Brynn the beat of time she needed to aim. When Davis’s attention returned to her, the pompous smile wilted. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger of Reid’s gun, shooting the man of her nightmares squarely in the chest.
But the deafening sound of the shot seemed to stutter as the gun recoiled in her hands—two bangs, not one. She looked down at her weapon, confused. Only when she heard the dueling groans of agony did she realize her shot hadn’t been the only one fired. Horror ratcheted through her as she lifted her gaze to find two crumpled and bloodied men on the floor.