That’s when my heart started to hurt. Actually physically hurt.
In the backseat of the car was Ava. Hands tied behind her back. A bag of money on her lap. It was the only way to make this thing work. She was the visible variable while I had the invisible variable coming soon.
“You want to kiss your girl?” Sid asked me.
“No,” I said. I put my sunglasses on. I climbed on my ride. “Let’s get this shit out of the way.”
So we left, just me and the Prez, Diesel driving the black car behind us.
The store was still shut down, a family emergency sign hanging in the door. It wasn’t like many people went to the store anyway. The store was nothing more than a reminder of a small town that used to flourish with little places like that.
I parked my ride sideways and climbed off. Sid was behind me. I walked to the car and stood there. I nodded to Sid and he placed a call.
A minute later, Glen appeared at the front door of the store.
You want to know the worst feeling in the world?
Walking a woman you care about to what could end up being her final destination. And I had to play it all off too.
I walked Ava to the front door of her family’s store.
Glen opened the door.
I had never seen his face in the light of day before. Only in the dark as I writhed in pain on the road where he had tried to kill me.
Goddamn, that took some serious restraint.
“I think we’re set here,” I said to Glen.
As fucked up as it was, you could tell Glen and Ava were from the same bloodline.
Glen was taller than Ava but not as tall as me. He had a cocky aura about him, as though he was an untouchable man.
His eyes lit up when he saw Ava.
“This is what you wanted,” Sid said. “We’ve fulfilled our promise.” Sid then tossed a bag of money to Glen. “Half the money. Your line of business isn’t welcome in Bishop.”
Glen nodded. “Well then, how interesting this has become. I’m back to where it started for me. Where I killed this bitch’s mother. Now I’m going to do the same to her. I’ll make sure her father - our father - will have lost everything he loves.”
As Glen started to back up, I caught myself inching forward. I couldn’t let Ava out of my sight or grasp for a second. Sid side stepped and blocked me from doing anything stupid.
We were going to wait and see what Glen’s next move would be.
The goal was to get Ava to safety and then deal with Glen.
“Since you’ve been so honest with me, let me do the same with you,” Glen said. “Come with me.”
He walked into the store.
I stepped up behind Ava and I touched her lower back. I couldn’t say a word to her, but I hoped my touch reassured her.
When we got into the store, Glen pointed to the counter.
I saw a bunch of chains and looked at him.
“What the fuck is that about?” I asked.
Glen walked to the door and twisted the lock shut. “We’re going to tie up Ava and finally do what was meant to be done a long time ago.”
Glen walked down one of the aisles. He crouched and disappeared for a few seconds.
I looked at Sid. I shook my head.
I didn’t like this. At all.
My instincts were going crazy. And I couldn’t fight against what I believed was right from wrong. I quickly grabbed for Sid and threw him back. He smashed into a gum ball machine that was probably thirty years old. He tumbled over and down to the ground just as Glen stood back up.
A gun in his hand.
He fucking fired right where Sid had been standing.
I jumped to my left to get to Ava next. I couldn’t knock her over because she was still tied up, so I stood there, blocking her.
The gun went off again and I felt a hot pain blast to my right shoulder. It jolted me forward into Ava. I wrapped my arms around her and pushed her onto the counter. I had to put all my weight on her as I rolled over her and pulled her to the floor. Above us, glass shattered as Glen kept unloading his clip.
“Jace,” Ava said. “Jace… save me…”
“I’ve got you sweetie,” I said to her.
I got to my knees, straddling Ava. I hurried to untie her. I slid back and grabbed her hand, sitting her up. I couldn’t help myself as I touched her face. I brought my mouth to hers and kissed her, just once.
Then I grabbed my gun and slowly inched up.
Sid was already back out the door. Glen lifted a can in the air and threw it. Glass shattered and liquid poured from the can. The smell hit me a few seconds later.
Gas.
Glen wanted to burn the store down. He wanted to burn the store down with Ava inside. That had been his plan.
I had a clear shot at Glen’s back but I couldn’t take it.
I had a good fucking reason for it.
I looked down at Ava and reached for her.
I pulled her to her feet. My shoulder was on fire. Blood dripped down my back and down my arm. I was losing blood fast but I needed to get Ava to safety.
Trust me, Sid hadn’t bailed on us. Sid knew what was coming next.
I pulled Ava from behind the counter.
Glen turned and saw us.
“Fuckers!” he yelled.
He pulled his gun and shot.