How many other guards were already out here?
In the distance, I heard a crash. Metal against metal. A second later, a Jeep skidded into the lot, the tires locked. The moment it stopped, Cole, Justin, Frosty and Bronx hopped out.
A second vehicle arrived, and out came Trina, Gavin, Veronica and Lucas.
A third vehicle pulled in, and out came Mr. Ankh, Mr. Holland and the rest of the slayers.
I wanted to... Was about to have... Hold it together. Just a little longer. They were here. They were here, and the girls would be saved, and all of the pain and suffering would have been worth it, and oh, glory, I was crying, the tears hazing my eyesight and freezing on my cheeks.
“Where are they?” Mr. Holland demanded.
Every slayer unsheathed a gun and aimed at Kelly.
Every guard around him unsheathed a gun and aimed at the slayers.
Kelly’s hands fisted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I do, however, know that this is private property and you were not invited. Leave, before I’m forced to take measures you won’t appreciate.”
“We know they’re here,” Cole growled. “Ali!”
“You’re surrounded,” Kelly gritted out. “Are you sure you want to go this route?”
“Are you sure that you do?” Mr. Ankh said, as calm as ever. “I’m sure a dozen dead bodies in your parking lot would be too difficult for even you to explain away or hide.”
“We want the girls,” Cole spat. “Now.”
“Here,” I called. “We’re here.”
Kelly stiffened.
Frosty and Bronx followed the echo of my voice. They reached me in seconds.
“Where’s Kat?” Frosty demanded.
“Back here,” Reeve called, and I knew she was doing her best to sound brave and unaffected.
“Jaclyn, lower the weapon,” I said.
“Jaclyn?” Justin took off in a run.
Frosty and Bronx, too. It wasn’t long before Frosty was carrying Kat, Bronx was carrying Reeve and Justin was carrying Jaclyn. I think every one of them was crying. I forced myself to stand, to inch forward, toward the slayers.
Cole kept his gun trained on Kelly, his finger twitching over the trigger. He wanted to kill the man. Like, bad. I saw it in the posture of his body. Felt it in the rage radiating from him.
“I know you hate the man and want him dead for taking Ali, but you need to go get your girl,” Gavin said, wrapping his fingers around the barrel of the gun. “Or I will.”
Cole cursed under his breath but relinquished the weapon without tapping the trigger; he rushed to my side. His gaze swept over me, and his expression hardened. He swept me up in his arms, and I could only rest my head on his shoulder.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he whispered, “and I’m not ever letting you go again.”
My chin trembled, a fresh round of tears threatening to fall.
“Go ahead, take them,” Kelly said, his body trembling with rage of his own. “You’ll find no evidence that they were ever here. In fact, I should call the authorities and let them know four teenage girls were sneaking around the premises.”
“Shoot him,” I said, my voice weak, strained.
Of course, no one obeyed. They’d begun to back up, heading for the cars. Well, sorry, but I couldn’t let Kelly walk away unscathed, no matter how noble he considered his cause. I had to do something. Now, while I had the chance.
With Cole’s body heat surrounding me, some of my tremors waned. So, with my last burst of energy, I lifted the tranq gun and squeezed the trigger.
A dart sank into Kelly’s cheek.
I’d aimed for his eye. Oh, well.
His knees buckled and he went down.
Some of the guards rushed to him. The others cocked their weapons, ready to retaliate. I was shoved into a car as shots rang out, Cole using his body as a shelter.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Couldn’t resist.”