Slowly, too slowly, I got myself under control. My heart dropped to a more manageable pace and the fear dulled down into something that I could ignore. The man couldn’t do anything to me, didn’t even know where I was. There was an irrational moment there where I was sure they could see me, sure that they knew where I was. That couldn’t be true, though. They were way too far away, and Liam was careful, taking us in circles before finally telling me to climb up. No, those two men had no clue where I was hiding. And Liam would take care of Max. I was safe.
I took another breath and forced myself to press the cold binoculars up against my face.
They were standing together, still alone. Neither of them were talking, and I couldn’t see Liam anywhere. I had no clue what he was doing, but I had to trust that he knew what was happening. I watched the two man stand there, looking around them, and I could tell they were getting progressively more impatient. Maybe ten minutes passed, and finally the taller guy said something to the smaller one, his face a mask of anger. The smaller man made some conciliatory gestures, trying to calm him down. I couldn’t read their lips, but it was clear that the big guy wanted to leave and the shorter one was convincing him to stay.
They argued like that for another minute when suddenly they stopped and faced the opposite side of the field. I panned my binoculars and spotted Liam crossing the space, his face grim. My muscles tensed for what was about to happen.
The smaller man called out and Liam nodded to him, stopping a few feet away. I adjusted the binoculars to get them all in view. Liam nodded to something and gestured in my direction, and the taller man said something, his face still pretty angry. Liam shrugged and grinned at them.
There was a tense moment where nobody moved. Then the smaller man took a step forward and said something. The taller man stepped up beside him, closing the distance between them and Liam by a few feet. Liam didn’t seem to react. He said something, and the smaller man nodded.
It looked like things were going well. Nobody was yelling and everyone was pretty calm, except for the big guy, though I guessed he was probably always pretty pissed off. I couldn’t blame him, since Liam had shot him the last time they came across each other. I hadn’t seen the gesture from Liam yet which meant I should come down, but I was waiting for it, watching with an intensity I didn’t know I had.
The big guy said something, and I could see the surprise on Liam’s face. He took a step backward, grin turning into a confused smile, his hands up in the air. What the fuck is going on?
Suddenly, the two men pulled guns out. They appeared faster than I thought possible. My heart practically stopped as they stood there, their barrels pointed directly at Liam. His face dropped into a neutral expression, and he said something. The bigger man answered, a vicious grin on his face.
No. No. This couldn’t be happening.
They couldn’t just kill him.
Not when I was holding all of the proof, the stuff that could fuck over their boss.
They wouldn’t just kill him.
The big guy took a step closer, his face twisted into a sick smile.
I wanted to scream.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Liam
I hated having guns pointed at me. There really was nothing worse, especially when one of those guns was controlled by a psycho like Max. I regretted not finishing him off for the hundredth time.
“If you kill me, the girl is going to release all of that info to the press,” I said.
“Good. We’ll kill that bitch next,” Max sneered.
Think Liam, how can you get out of this? I wracked my brain for an out, but I couldn’t come up with one. I looked at Colin and his expression gave me nothing.
“You too, Colin?” I asked.
“Orders are orders.” He shrugged.
I had a hard time imagining what it would feel like to get shot, really shot, but at least Ellie was safe. She knew what to do in the worst-case scenario, and I knew Leary would at least give her some money and maybe some documents to help her get away. He’d probably have to run, too, that poor asshole.
There was a tense moment. “Don’t let them hurt Richie,” I said to Colin.
He nodded, his face tight. “We’re not monsters.”
I nodded back.
“Okay, enough bullshit. Let’s kill the fucker and get back,” Max snapped.
I closed my eyes. Ellie was safe. I knew Ellie would be safe. This wasn’t all for nothing, in the end. She would get away, and they might even leave her alone. With me gone, she wasn’t much of a threat anymore. Colm had his revenge, and his grip on the city would continue to solidify. Everything would be okay. Colin would protect Richie.
All I had to do was stay still.
It would be over soon. It would all be over.