Page 31 of Securing His Family
If he could keep the guy talking for long enough, he was sure his teammates would be here soon. This was the reason why he didn’t have an issue with his security feed being monitored at the office. At the first sign of trouble, Steve would get the team together and be out the door in a matter of seconds.
“I thought it was Charlee you wanted.” He relaxed as if he didn’t care he was being held at gunpoint.
Patrick scoffed and crept a little closer. “The kid means nothing, Lauren however, does.”
Why? Why did Patrick want Lauren after all this time? After basically tossing her away with yesterday’s scraps as if she didn’t mean anything to him.
He didn’t need to look at Lauren to know she was panicking. He could feel her fear through the car door. She would also be able to hear what he was saying and what Patrick was saying.
“What’s so special about Lauren?” Reed moved, trying to get a little closer. He may not have a weapon but he could distract Patrick enough so he could charge the man and relieve him of the gun.
“I’m tired of talking.”
Reed felt the burn as the bullet ripped through his thigh a second after the sound of the gun firing filled the air. Lauren’s muffled scream and Patrick’s maniacal laugh all blended together as another bullet hit Reed in the gut. He had a sense of falling, the world tilting sideways, and the force of his face hitting the cement of his driveaway.
Patrick’s booted feet entered his line of vision before the man bent down and stared at him. “You should’ve just given me Lauren and then everything would’ve been so much easier for you.”
Through the haze of pain and the black dots clouding his vision, Reed braced himself for the next bullet. He willed his body to move. To try and roll away, but nothing was getting through. His limbs were heavy and the effort to remain conscious was fading.
“Lauren,” he whispered as he was sucked into the blackness.
* * *
“Reed!” Lauren screamed, scrambling over the console as Reed fell to the ground.
I have to get out of the car.
She was an easy target if she didn’t. She jumped out of it and took off.
Her first instinct was to run to Reed to see if he was okay, but if she did that, she would make it too easy for Patrick to shoot her too.
Tears clogged her eyes but she blinked them away. She needed to escape so that she could get the help Reed needed.
Her heart lodged in her throat as she passed the back end of the car, her safety barrier gone.
Was she being too stupid to live by running?
Should she have stayed in the car? Neither option wasn’t perfect. Patrick could just as well shoot her in the back as he could’ve while she sat in the car staring at him.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and she put on a burst of speed. If she got out into the street she’d be safer than in the driveway.
A second later her head was yanked back violently as Patrick grabbed hold of her ponytail. Pain burst through her skull, and she couldn’t stop the cry of pain from erupting out of her.
“Bitch. You’re coming with me.” Patrick dragged her by her hair toward a white sedan. She tried to dig her heels in needing to escape, but Patrick tightened his grip. The tears she’d blinked away returned.
Maybe if she was compliant she could escape the back of the car before Patrick pulled away from the curb. She didn’t fight him when he shoved her in, just grabbed the seatbelt as if she was going to put it on.
“You can’t escape, if that’s what you’re thinking about doing. There are no handles.” He slammed the door in her face.
Is he lying? There has to be door handles.
Lauren looked to where a means to escape should be, except there was nothing but a hole in the lining.
As the car pulled away she glanced over her shoulder, desperate to see help coming in her direction. The people at Power Security must have seen what was going on. She knew Reed didn’t live that far away from the office. Surely they should’ve been there by now.
Except all she saw was Reed on the ground, bleeding. There were no cars flying down the street to save her.
Panic filled her, threatening to suck her down until she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t see clearly.
