“Ah, the man of the hour.” The guy pulls a gun from his waistband and points it at me.
I try to turn and look at Canon, but the way I’m positioned in this metal chair, I can’t.
“Ian, what the fuck are you doing here?” Canon’s voice fills the warehouse and sends relief through my veins, quickly followed by panic.
“He has a gun!” I yell to Canon so he’ll stay back. I pull against the zip-ties that are digging into my wrists to no avail.
“It’s fine, Demi.” Canon says too calmly. He’s still standing somewhere behind me. “Answer me,” he says to the guy named Ian.
“I’m so glad you asked,friend.” Ian puts on a sinister smile. “Let’s start from the beginning.” He leans back into his chair.
“You see, all my life, I’ve been seen as a joke. A nobody. Then you came along and made all that shit ten times worse.”
I hear Canon make a run for where Ian is sitting, but he quickly turns the gun and points it at Canon.
“No!” I scream.
“Relax, princess. I need to finish my story.” Ian rolls his eyes, then turns his attention back to Canon. “Like I was saying. Here I am, being seen as a joke. People calling you my bodyguard and thinking I need you to protect me everywhere I go. But suddenly, someone comes along and sees the potential in me.That’swhen I gained an actual family. Not whatever bullshit family idea you had in your head.”
Ian stands, takes his shirt off, then turns to show us the huge tattoo covering his entire back.
It’s a large red owl with its wings spread and eyes pitch black.
“How long?” Canon says through clenched teeth. I’m able to see him now and he looks dressed up. He’s wearing a suit, with his white dress shirt underneath unbuttoned to show his perfectly sculpted chest. His tie hangs openly around his neck like he forgot it was there.
“Since right after you stole their supply,” Ian says as a matter of factly.
Canon laughs, “Such a fucking dumbass as always. After all that shit I did for you, all we’ve been through, you let the Owl Brotherhood sucker you in. You do realize they only recruited you to get to me, right? They didn’t see potential in you. They saw opportunity. An opportunity to get to me through my complete idiot of a friend.”
“Shut. The fuck. Up!” Ian booms, shooting out of his seat. His arm stretched out, pointing the gun straight at Canon’s chest. “They told me you’d try to spin this shit. This is what I’m talking about. You never believed in me or thought I could do shit on my own, but look around,” He opens his arms out wide, “I orchestrated a whole kidnapping! Planned this shit out for weeks. How do you think your dear daddy found out about you? Granted, I didn’t plan for it to be this fine ass bitch. I figured you’d get close to your sister and then I’d killherbut this is even better.”
He mumbles the last part mostly to himself.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Canon’s fists clench at his sides.
“My brothers told me who your daddy was after you stole their product. They found out and were telling me their plans for you, but I told them I wanted to come up with my own plan. You’d never see it coming. The friend that hit your dad up and let him know about your mom happens to be a part of the brotherhood.”
“Fuck this,” Canon says as he starts to make his way towards me.
“Back the fuck up!” Ian screams, pointing the gun at Canon’s head now. Suddenly, figures emerge from the shadows, all wearing black and red. “Don’t make this messier than it has to be, Can.”
A scream I never thought was humanly possible tears out of me as all of the figures start to descend on Canon. They’re about to start throwing blows when a whistle rings out through the warehouse.
“Hate to crash the party,” a voice calls out. A boy leads a pack of guys wearing skate gear, holding all sorts of weapons, including a skateboard.
“Mason?” Canon asks shocked, “how the fuck?”
“Your new brother called me. Wanted to surprise you by having me here foryoursurprise, but I guess we all got surprised today.”
What surprise is he talking about?
“Little Canon! It’s been so long, I’ve missed you buddy,” Ian says with a fake smile.
“Come over here and show me how much,” Mason says as he cracks his neck.
“Nah, I’d rather do it from here,” Ian says as he points the gun to Mason.
“No!” Canon screams but before Ian can let a shot off, he’s tackled from behind by Connor.