Hard Bastard(35)

I took the gun from him, surprised at how heavy it was. I held it the way he showed me. He adjusted my grip a little bit but nodded.

“Good,” he said. “Stand like this if you can.” He showed me a sideways stance. “This gun won’t have a lot of kick, but it’ll be there. A good stance will make you more accurate.”

“Like this?”

He nodded as I got into position. He adjusted my hips a bit. “Now, look down the sights. See?”

“I see.” I pointed the gun at the far wall, aiming it and holding it the way he showed me.

“Good.” He gently took the gun back and put it into the drawer. “There’s also cash in here, around five grand. If you have to run, take the old car, the gun, and this cash. Drive for as long as you physically can and don’t fucking look back.”

“Gage,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t do this. I can’t run.”

“You won’t have to. But just in case, you have to be ready. Okay?”

I bit my lip. I hated this and all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers like a scared little kid. But he was doing so much for me already, the least I could do was try and step up a little bit.

“Okay,” I said. “Car, cash, and gun. I got it.”

“Good.” He gestured at keys sitting on top of the drawer. “You can get out the window over there. It’ll drop you right next to the car.”

“Okay,” I said. “Got it.”

“This is your escape route. If I’m not back in three hours, use it.”

“Three hours?”

“Yes,” he said. “Three hours. Not a second longer.”

“What if you’re just running late?”

“I’ll find you,” he said gently. “Don’t leave a note. Don’t hesitate. Three hours and you run if I’m not back.”

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

He took my shoulders, looking me in the eyes. “You’re a survivor now, Sadie. You’re a badass lawyer that goes up against the toughest motherfuckers in the world. You can fucking do this.”

I nodded, steeling myself. “Okay,” I said. “Okay. Three hours and I’ll run.”

“Good.” He looked me in the eye for another second before letting me go. He turned and walked toward the front door.

I followed him. “What’ll happen to you?” I asked him.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, grinning. “I’m like you. I’m a fucking survivor.” He picked up another gun from the coffee table, slipped it into his jeans, and then opened the front door. He waved and then disappeared outside, shutting the door behind him.

I stood there alone in the strange house, not sure what to do with myself. I looked at the clock and made a note of the time.

Three hours, and then I was going to run my ass off. I was terrified and didn’t know where I’d go, probably back to Seattle, but maybe that was too obvious. Maybe Canada or Florida or Texas or Mexico. Somewhere far away.

I owed that to him at the very least. I was going to do as he told me, but I was praying I never really had to.





Chapter 14





Gage





I pulled up outside of the diner where Alex had breakfast every day. I checked my watch and sat back to wait. I was probably a half hour early, so I got comfortable and kept my eyes peeled. He’d show up and sit alone, and talking in the diner was the perfect place. He wouldn’t be able to get violent or send one of his fucking boys to try and shank me from behind. It wasn’t exactly safe, but it was safer than going to his actual office.

I should have been prepping for this fucking meeting, but I couldn’t mentally make myself worry about it. I had no real plan or idea, and didn’t think there was anything I could say or do. I killed Kuzma to defend an enemy of the mob, and that was straight up traitor shit. If I heard of someone else doing that, I’d be the first one in line to cut his fucking throat.

I didn’t even know why I was doing this. I should have gotten all our shit packed and hit the road as soon as I killed Kuzma. I shouldn’t have wasted a single fucking second, because every one of those seconds could count out on the road. We could have disappeared without a trace last night.

But I couldn’t walk out on the mob. They gave me so much and brought me up in the world. My stupid fucking loyalty was probably going to get me killed, but I had to take the risk. What I wasn’t okay with was getting Sadie hurt because of my stupidity.

The girl had no clue how strong she was and what she did to me. She had no idea the kind of person it took to go through what she went through last night and still get up the next morning. She was shaken up and obviously still afraid, but she was still moving, and that was amazing. I’d seen people go catatonic over fucking less in my day, but she was eating and even learning to hold a gun the right way.