But it was too late. Langdon pounced and pulled her against himself, holding a gun to her head.
“Thanks for bringing a plane and the coke, Samira,” he said, gripping her tight. “Looks like I can still use you after all. Your
pilot can take us to Mexico and we can sell that cocaine. And who knows, perhaps I’ll even get a good price for you.”
She struggled against him. “Fuck you!”
“Hmm… And now that I know people care about you, I can charge a good ransom for your release. I’m sure they’ll do all they can to get you back!”
There was a loud crash inside the plane, and Samira glanced up to see that Joseph had tried to climb out, but he’d fallen over in the doorway from where he was still concussed.
Langdon tightened his grip on Samira, pushing the gun barrel into her temple. “Is that Joseph Quinlan? Jesus, Samira, you’re better connected than I realized.”
“Let her go, Langdon,” Ivan growled. “If you hurt her, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Samira saw one of the concussed gangsters twitching behind Ivan… the other gangster was still out cold. But now where had Jake gone?
Langdon opened his mouth to reply to Ivan, but there was a loud bang and he suddenly let go of Samira. She realized he’d been shot in the shoulder, and she saw Jake standing at the side of the plane, holding the smoking gun.
“He said leave her alone, motherfucker,” Jake shouted. “And he means it.”
Langdon pushed Samira out the way, raised his own gun, then – without hesitation – he shot Jake in the chest.
“No!” Samira shouted, as Jake flew to the ground, where he remained unmoving.
“You killed my brother, you asshole!” Ivan shouted.
Langdon was clearly in agony from the gunshot wound in his shoulder – he spoke through gritted teeth. “Your brother? Jake’s your brother?”
“Yeah. Funny who you bump into when you’ve got a psychopathic murderer in your life, isn’t it?”
Despite his heavily bleeding shoulder, Langdon directed the gun toward Ivan. “Well, now it’s your turn to join him.”
“Stop it!” Samira shouted, feeling all hope drain from her body. “Don’t kill him, please!”
Langdon’s finger twitched on the trigger, but Jake suddenly leapt up and shot Langdon again – this time incapacitating him. Samira grabbed his gun as he fell to the ground – writhing in agony from two bullets.
Jake rushed forward and stood menacingly over Langdon, pointing his gun down at him. He didn’t flinch at the sound of the approaching police sirens, but Samira guessed one of the staff must’ve called the cops because of all the shooting.
“I should fucking kill you for trying to set me up like that,” Jake shouted at Langdon, looming over him.
Samira ran to Ivan, who wrapped her up in his embrace. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, and she bit back her tears – relieved he was okay, but terrified about what was about to happen next.
Langdon covered his face with his arm, preparing himself for the impact. Jake was bleeding badly too, but the adrenaline was obviously pulling him through.
“No, Jake!” Ivan shouted. “Don’t you fucking dare kill him – I’m not losing you to the electric chair.”
“No… I won’t kill him. I’ve got a better idea.” Jake locked his gaze on Langdon. “I’ll let you live if you give Samira your late-wife’s identity. And then leave her alone after that. That way she gets to stay in the country and you get to live. Do we have a deal?”
Langdon nodded frantically. “Yes, we have a deal.”
Jake stepped down just as the cops reached them. “Everyone freeze. No one move! Someone call paramedics!”
Jake turned to face the cop who was doing all the shouting. “You’ve got an injured drugs baron in the house and a concussed rockstar in the plane. And here… this is Mrs. Langdon. Right?”
Samira gazed up into Ivan’s eyes, then she walked forward to speak. “Jake, I appreciate the thought, but we need justice for the real Mrs. Langdon. I can’t steal her identity. Her husband murdered her, and he would’ve murdered me. He needs to go to jail.”
Jake nodded, indicating that he understood. He opened his mouth to talk to the police, but he collapsed to his knees, finally giving in to the gunshot wound in his shoulder. Samira wanted to run over and thank him for the sacrifice he’d made, but the paramedics rushed to attend to him.