Sex Piston thought of the cape around her, which would have hidden all her movements.
“Thank God.” If she had removed the cape, then Joker and Dale would have taken the cell phone away. No one had thought of Lily having a cell phone in her pocket concealed by the large cape.
“Stay here.” Stud released her after giving her a tight squeeze.
“I’m going with you. I can go in the door first and distract him,” Sex Piston argued.
“You’re staying here,” he demanded, turning away, but she reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing him to listen to her.
“You’ve never been inside my shop. He has a gun on my friends. You go through that door first, then Joker might shoot. Please, Stud.” It took everything she had to plead with him. Any other time, she would just do what she wanted, but she wanted Stud to trust her enough to know what she was doing.
“Let her go. If he starts shooting in a small room, any of those women could be hit by a bullet. If she could get his back to the door, then we can take him,” Shade said grimly.
Stud hesitated before nodding his head.
Sex Piston went to the door alone and unlocked it. Holding it open, the men moved silently into the shop. They moved behind the counter, trying to keep their reflections from the mirrors. At Shades nod, she walked toward the back of the shop, trying to beat down the panic flooding through her veins. She was aware Stud and Shade were maneuvering themselves closer to her.
Stud had a gun in his hand while Shade’s remained empty, but the deadly look in his eyes made him every bit as frightening as Stud who carried the weapon with expert ease. Sex Piston released a long breath, letting the tension flow from her body. She had to be strong for her friends and for Lily. She had two deadly men at her back and numerous brothers converging on her shop.
She wasn’t that same girl who had faced numerous challenges on her own; she hadn’t been for a long time, but had never let herself truly realize it before. Strength and resolve shone on her face when she stepped into the doorway to face Joker.
He jerked the pistol toward her. Her eyes went to the others in the room. Joker had been amusing himself since she had left. She had been right; he had no intention of leaving any one of them alive. Crazy Bitch was on her knees on the floor; her lip bloodied and a bruise forming on her cheek. Killyama was holding Lily protectively; the cape she had been wearing was now gone and her hand cradled in the other one was a mangled mess.
T.A. and Fat Louise had separated and were standing on opposite sides of the room. Sex Piston knew they were waiting for the opportunity to attack Joker. None of her crew showed fear—they never had.
“Looks like you’ve been busy, Joker.”
“Where’s Dale?” he asked, his eyes going to the doorway behind her.
“He said to tell you to go fuck yourself, and took off,” Sex Piston taunted the man.
“You’re lying!”
“No, I’m not. When we got outside, he took off.” Sex Piston shrugged, looking at T.A. “I always told you he was a pussy.”
Sex Piston could see that Joker was torn in whether to believe her or not. Evidently, his doubt won out because he moved toward her. Sex Piston tried to move to the side so that she could get his back to the door, but Joker was too lost in his anger. Reacting violently to Dale’s supposed departure, he grabbed Sex Piston, but before he could hit her, which was his intention, Killyama was on him. She had picked up one of the break chairs and crashed it down on the back of his head.
Stud and Shade were already running into the room, but Sex Piston couldn’t get out of their way fast enough in the small room to keep Joker from blindly reacting. He fired his gun into the crowded room. It was the first time Sex Piston actually heard her crew scream in terror.
Shade managed to grab the gun away from Joker. Turning the gun to point directly at him, he fired a bullet into the side of Joker’s abdomen.
“That will keep you busy.” Shade’s voice was as cold as his ice blue eyes.
Sex Piston looked around, praying silently. Her eyes went to Crazy Bitch who was getting to her feet. Lily shakily scooted closer to Fat Louise as T.A. rushed over to them. Fat Louise was lying on the floor, blood pouring from her leg. T.A. grabbed some towels from the shelf to try to stop the bleeding, and Lily sank down next to her, taking her hand with her good one. Her other hand fell uselessly to her lap.
Bear and Pike came in the door. “The state police are outside and an ambulance is on the way,” Bear informed them.
Sex Piston went to her friend, going down on her knees beside her. Fat Louise’s eyes rose to hers. Sex Piston’s eyes watered, but she fought back tears.