Jiwan sneers, his grin twisted, teeth perfectly white. “You cannot have her.” His voice is smooth, his English clear and almost unaccented, just a slight lilt.
I snort. “If you can’t, no one can? That’s your game?”
He points the gun at me. “You think I will not shoot you?”
I shrug. “Nah, I figure you probably will.”
“Then why are you still here? She is mine. You leave, or you die.” He twists another vile grin. “I may not kill her, but I will shoot you and then I will fuck her while you watch.”
I edge into the room, tossing my baton to the floor. “You that sure of your aim, buddy? You think you can drop me before I reach you? Because Jiwan, let me explain something to you—I get my hands on you, you’re fuckin’ done. Even with a bullet in me, I’m gonna fuck you up, and then my boys here will finish the job.” I lean back against the doorframe, opposite Zane, so I’m not in the way of his aim. “Way I see it, you got this one chance. Drop the gun and go home. Forget Anj. She ain’t yours, and she never was.”
“She ismine!” he shouts. “She was promised to me. I will have her.”
I do my best to keep calm, because shouting back at him is only gonna get me riled up and I need my shit locked down tight. “Buddy, you got it all wrong. Her jackass father may have made you promises, but those weren’t his promises to make. He don’t own her. She’s her own fuckin’ woman.Shechooses who she marries. She wanted to marry you, she wouldn’t have run away from your ass. She did. She choseme, motherfucker. What do think is gonna happen here? You’re gonna kidnap her and she’s gonna fall in love with you? Or you’re gonna keep her chained up in a basement somewhere? What’s your end goal, man? She doesn’t want you. Give it up.”
“She ismine!” he shouts.
I groan in frustration. “Ah, fuck. You’re whacked, aren’t you?” I move forward, hands up. “Let it go, man.”
He swings the pistol to aim at me. “Stay where you are!”
“Not gonna happen, man. Put it down and let her go. Get your buddies down there some medical attention. Go home. Find someone who wants you. You got nothing here, man. You hit me, it ain’t likely you’re gonna kill me, and then you’re dead.”
“You have no weapon. You will not kill me.”
I grin. “You think I need a gun to kill you?”
I step closer. The room is small, and he’s in the back left corner, wedged in. Nowhere to go. Anjalee partially in front of him. There’s a decent amount of him in the open for Zane to target. I just need to keep him distracted.
I sidle right, so I’m coming at him from an angle. Zane’s to my left, Rev in the doorway. I know Rev and I know he can cross the room in a flash. And I’m wagering the whole fuckin’ show on Zane’s aim.
I just hope to fuck I have Zane read accurately—that he’s the operator my instincts tell me he is.
Jiwan shoves the gun in my direction. “I will shoot you!”
I laugh. “Been shot before, bro. Don’t scare me, much.”
“You will die!”
I laugh again, take another step closer. “Nah, not thinkin’ I will. Not thinkin’ you’re good enough to get a kill shot when I make my move.”
“You will make no move.”
I grin and take another step—I’m just about within range, now. “Sure about that?”
He points the gun at Anjalee. “I will shoot her.”
“Quit playin’, man. You want her. What good is she dead? You gonna fuck her corpse?” I taste bile, even saying that. Nonetheless, I keep playing it calm, cool, and casual, like this is any old day.
He’s freaking out, now. I see it on his face, I see it in his eyes. When he swings the gun back to me, I see his finger wrap around the trigger and start tightening.
Almost.
I meet Anjalee’s eyes. Flick my gaze to the floor, hoping she understands my meaning; she gives a subtle tilt upward of her jaw. Thank fuck.
I keep my hands at my sides. Place three fingers along the back of my thigh.
Then two.
