“Give me one good reason not to kill you right here. Surrounded by people and no one would see me do it. I promise you that.”
“Two words: Automated. Email. Kill me, and all the proof the government will need to fry you will be sent over at a time I’ve already chosen and you don’t get to fucking know. So make up your mind.”
“Boss,” called one of the men from behind Luke.
“I’m busy!” called Longineu.
“Harper is with the FBI chick right now. Says he has her contained.”
Longineu pulled his hand out of Luke’s grip. “Your move, Devereaux.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Evelyn opened her eyes right as Easson kicked her in the ribs. She let out a pained cough as she took in any possible weapon before he struck again. Thinking straight was too hard and her eyes refused to focus.
Just hang on. Backup would be here soon and someone had to have heard the gunshot.
He started to rear back for another kick, and all Evelyn could do was brace herself until the electronic sound of a ringing phone cut through her pained gasps for breath.
“Hold on, love.” He pulled out his phone. It must have been a text, because he didn’t answer. “Damn. I really wanted to make this last, too...” He typed something into the phone.
The brief interlude was enough for Evelyn to get some of her senses back. There it was. One-quart paint cans right within reach. She snatched the closest one up and slammed it into his leg. He grunted in pain and she swung again, hitting his ankle, throwing him off balance.
It was just enough time for Evelyn to push herself up. She hit him in the head as hard as possible with the can, the force so hard that the can popped out of her hands.
He swung wildly, but she was just able to avoid it, and she slammed the side of her palm into his throat. Even as he coughed, Easson lunged forward, jamming his shoulder into her side and pushing her back into the concrete wall.
Under normal circumstances, the hit would be painful enough as is, but the blow to her already sore ribs practically blinded her with pain. She bit back a curse as she slammed an elbow into his back, but he only grunted as he punched her in the ribs.
Evelyn scanned the room for anything she could use to help her get out of this when the door pushed open. Easson let her go, and she fell to the ground with a thump as he turned to face the newcomer.
Luke. Holding a gun. Pointed straight at Easson.
What the hell was he doing here? Evelyn grabbed her gun and clip, slamming it back together and pointing it at Easson’s back.
“Still have those zip ties?” asked Luke.
Evelyn glared at him as she bent down until she could grab her handbag that had been discarded at some point during the fight. With her free hand, she managed to pull out one of the restraints.
“Shit. Are you bleeding?” Luke’s eyes went to her side.
She looked down and saw the red smears along her dress, and then up to Easson. Finally some good news. “Not me. Him. Where the hell did you get a gun?”
“I brought it with me,” he said dismissively.
Easson stared daggers at the two of them. “You can’t arrest me, you know. I’ve got friends in high places.”
Luke started to step closer and Evelyn shook her head. “Keep the gun out of his reach,” she warned as she poked his shoulder with the butt of her gun. The more she touched him, the more chances he had to disarm her and use her as leverage to get past Luke, so she refused to take any chances. She’d shot him once already and she wasn’t afraid to do it again.
“If you’re talking about Longineu, he’s not going to help you anymore. He can hardly help himself at this point. In fact, he’s going to be turning himself into police custody pretty much as we speak. So don’t expect anyone to save your ass.”
“He would never do that,” said Easson, for the first time sounding less sure of himself.
Evelyn met Luke’s gaze over Easson’s shoulder, silently agreeing with him. Why the hell would Longineu turn himself over? She carefully set the gun between her arm and side and tightened the restraints a tad tighter than was probably necessary, so there was no way he was squeezing out, even if he broke his thumbs. This dude was the exact kind of crazy who would pull some stunt like that.
As soon as he was secured, she pulled out her phone and called into the local police, who connected her to the officers who were already headed up. “Go in the hallway and wait for them, Luke. Keep me in sight, though. After what happened earlier, I don’t know how much I trust these restraints.”
He nodded and started to back up.
“And after this, we’re going to talk,” she warned.