From the corner of my eye, I watched her turn and go. Still engaged with Charles' father, I saw Charles himself get up, blood still streaming down his face, to go after Avery. I stuck my leg out as he passed by, clipping his foot. Charles stumbled and fell, landing face first on the concrete floor of the warehouse. He howled in outrage and pain, but I saw that Avery had made it outside and to freedom.
Knowing she was safe, I really didn't care what happened to me anymore. She would live and I knew, would take good care of my girls. But, I had no regrets. Saving Avery and knowing she'd protect and raise them like a mother was all I needed to be happy.
That didn't mean I was going down without a fight though. I had ahold of the man's wrist and forearm and was struggling to make him drop the gun. He was strong though, and was pushing back against me, trying to lower the gun so he could shoot me in the face.
It was a back and forth affair and although I was physically stronger, he had better leverage. The muzzle of the gun was slowly lowering, inch by inch, and he'd be able to pull the trigger sooner, rather than later. I couldn't get better leverage on him, no matter how hard I tried. I grunted and gritted my teeth, redoubling my effort to get him to drop the gun.
He didn't. I was going to die.
Then the strangest thing happened.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Charles get to his feet, his face a dark mask of rage and blood. He rushed toward me, eyes burning with fury and hate, an enraged scream falling from his mouth. Charles swung one meaty fist at me, aiming for the side of my head. I was able to sidestep it enough, that he missed. His fist connected with his father's face, the crack and snap of bone audible even above his unintelligible screaming.
The older man staggered backward, blood flowing from his mouth and nose. He landed on his back, the air leaving him in a whoosh – and I was left standing there with the gun in my hand. As Charles wheeled back around on me, I raised the gun and pointed it at his face.
“Down on your knees,” I said, my voice cold. “And put your hands behind your head.”
He did as I told him, staring up at me with the angriest, most hate-filled eyes I'd ever seen on another human being. All because Avery had chosen me over him. It was sad, really. Charles as a rich, successful, good looking man. He could have practically any woman he wanted. Except for Avery – and being a man who doesn't take hearing the word no well, that had sent him over the deep end.
“Drop the gun!”
The voice startled me and I dropped the gun quite by accident. I turned to see a flood of cops come storming into the building, guns drawn, expressions stern. The man who'd shouted at me grabbed hold of me and started to slap on a pair of handcuffs.
“No,” Avery cried out. “He's not the one you want. It's the other two. They're the ones who kidnapped and tried to kill me. Spencer saved my life.”
The cop was unmoved and tightened the cuffs down on my wrists. I didn't blame him. It was a confusing situation and he didn't know who to believe yet. Best to cuff everybody until it all got sorted out. I looked over and saw Charles and his father, both on their knees, both with hands cuffed behind their backs. They cast dark, baleful looks in my direction.
The cop kept Avery from getting too close to me, even though she ranted and raved about them cuffing the wrong guy. She told him no less than a thousand times that I was the hero and Charles was the villain in this little melodrama.
“Spencer Sullivan?”
I turned to the sound of the familiar voice and smiled. “Detective Mor
eau,” I said. “Glad you could join us.”
“I thought I told you to stay out of this.”
I nodded. “I worried that if I waited too long, that Avery might be dead by the time you all got here.”
The detective nodded as if he understood. He turned to the cop and motioned to me, telling him to take the cuffs off of me. The cop quickly complied, and Avery flew into my arms, pulling me to her in a tight embrace. She planted kisses all over my face and then went back to hugging me.
“We'll need you both to come give your statements,” Detective Moreau said. “When you get a moment.”
“Thank you, Detective.”
Moreau walked away, leaving us in privacy. “You could have been killed,” she said, looking deeply into my eyes.
“I wasn't going to leave you to those creeps,” I said. “I couldn't lose you.”
“But the girls –”
I let out a long breath. Yeah, it had been reckless. I could have been killed. Avery could have been killed – and then the girls would have been left with nobody. It was stupid. But, they wouldn't be able to recover from losing somebody they loved again any better than I could have.
Which meant, I had to try to save Avery. Not just for my own sake, but for the sake of my girls too.
“What's important,” I said, “is that we made it through this. You're alive and I'm alive. All I knew was that the girls couldn't lose you, Avery. And I couldn't lose you. Wouldn't lose you. I couldn't just sit by and wait while somebody else I love is taken from me.”
“Love?” she asked, her eyes wide. “You – love me?”