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“If you touch her—” The sound of another gun in the room clicks and cuts Dekker off.
“Son, we will do whatever the fuck we want with her. You will either be breathing or not. So, I would suggest you not try to play the hero today,” Ledger says as he points his gun at Dekker.
“You gonna kill me,Dad?”
Ledger shrugs while keeping the gun on Dekker. “Whether or not you’re breathing doesn’t matter to me. You were already adisappointment. Turned out to be a pussy, not the son I needed. I should have had you killed the night we kidnapped her from the house and then dropped her back off. It would have saved a lot of this bullshit.”
My heart sinks at the words he spits, but Dekker’s face remains unchanged.
“You took her? How the fuck did you get in?” A growl emanates from him.
Ledger laughs. “Boy, we made that house what it is. There are ways in and out of there you would never know of. Well, now you will never know because we burnt it to the ground. Besides, we technically didn’t kidnap her; she technically never left. She was there the whole time.” He shrugs. “But we could get in and out of there in a blink of a fucking eye. At least I get the chance to see the light in your eyes go out in person.”
“What do you mean she was there the whole time?” Xayden yells.
“Are you stupid? It means what it means. We had her in the house the entire time. There are dungeons and hidden rooms all over that place. Fuck, I thought you three would have at least done some digging. Man, we really fucked up with you.” Ledger shakes his head.
“Fuck you, old man,” Dekker growls.
“You really do deserve a bullet between the eyes, boy. Can’t believe you are the sperm that won out,” Ledger sighs as he keeps the gun on Dekker.
“Take the money!” I scream, my heart racing with each passing second. “Just don’t hurt them, please.” I feel Damien’s arm tighten around me, and I freeze.
“Aw, so sweet that your little girlfriend is sticking up for you.” Ledger looks at me. “Thanks for the money, but honestly, I should have killed my son the day he was born.”
In a matter of seconds, time stands still and everything I had been trying to avoid unfolds right in front of my eyes. I watch as Dekker takes a step back, Xayden screams at his dad, and Seven gets shoved behind Dekker.
Ledger realigns his shot at Dekker, and I let out a scream as a gunshot rings out.
There’s a ringing in my ears as I am thrown to the ground. I can’t break the fall with my arms handcuffed behind my back, so I try to twist to the side and land on my side.
“FBI! Fucking don’t fucking move or I’ll put a fucking hole in your head too!” I look up at the sound of Damien’s voice and then see his gun is pointed to Ledger who now is laying on his back, dead as a can be. My eyes dart to the guys who are crouched on the floor looking at the situation with confusion.
“Drop the fucking gun, Brooks. Don’t make me kill you in front of your son. And if you move a fucking muscle, Grey, there’s a bullet for you in here too.” Damien doesn’t even turn toward David, but he seems keenly aware of him.
“No, I can’t.” Aaron starts shaking his head. “Do you know what they will do to me in prison?”
“Dad! Stop! Just put it down,” Xayden begs his father. “Whatever is going on, we can fix it”
Aaron shakes his head. “I’m not the man you think I am. I’m not a good man.” He tips the gun to the side of his head.
“Dad, I love you. Please put the gun down,” Xayden begs his father with a sense of urgency. “Dad! Don’t! We can fix this. Please!”
I am frozen on the ground, watching the man I thought loved my mother hold a gun to his head. Watching my stepbrother beg his father to not kill himself in front of us.
“Your mother was the only good thing I did, Xayden.”
“Put the gun down, Brooks,” Damien orders him. “Just drop the gun. We can talk this out okay? But let’s put the gun down. No one else has to get hurt.”
“I’m sorry about your mother, Rory.” He looks at Xayden. “I love you, son.” And in an instant, he takes his gun off his head and points it at Damien.
Screams echo in the room as a shot fires off. My ears start ringing from the shot of the gun. My eyes fling to Damien and then back to Aaron, just as I watch Aaron drop to his knees with a shot to the head.
A yell comes at my left and I catch David charging Damien, who doesn’t have enough time to bring the gun around to level it at David. Instead, Damien goes down and the gun goes flying off into a different direction.
With David on top of Damien, his fists land punches against his face. Damien is completely overpowered at the moment. I turn and look at the guys who are standing there in shock at the scene before them. So, I do the only thing I can think of with hands handcuffed behind my back.
Rolling to my knees, I quickly sit up on them. I watch the two of them wrestle with each other and when I see an opportunity, I take it. With Damien under him, David’s hands wrap around his neck as Damien struggles to remove them. Within a second, I am up and off the floor. With as much speed and force as I can get, I run toward David.