Page 120 of Wicked Sin

She has dirt on everyone.

Including me, but I’ve shared all of that with Luke now. Which makes him a liability to her.

Cole nods. “Smart. Stay here.”

He lets himself out of the car. I watch him stride quickly toward the front line, and then when I’m sure he’s out of hearing range, I quietly open my door and slip out the other side.

It is smart. They’ll think it’s a good idea.

And it might even work.

But I’m not going to leave it up to chance. Slowly, I creep up the outside of the line of cars. Nobody is watching me, so I get pretty close before I need to break across the lawn.

Then I wait.

There’s a fierce discussion going on between Cole, Sarah, and a big, burly guy I assume is the incident commander.

I see my opportunity, and I race for the front door. Behind me there are shouts for me to stop, but that’s never going to happen.

I’ll trade my life for his in a heartbeat.

37

Luke

There’s shouting outside,and Amelia flinches.

I’m not sure she’s ever fired a gun before, but she’s pretty comfortable pointing one at my chest. “Ignore them,” I say quietly. I give her a smile, too.

I’ve smiled a lot in the last few hours. Nothing like getting to know your girlfriend’s mom at gunpoint.

It turns out Amelia’s had a hard week, too. Her husband was arrested, she was in tough negotiations to not get arrested herself, and the extra governmental powers that be who should have come to her rescue did not. Instead they fired her. She’s slightly grumpy about that and has decided to take it out on me.

I don’t actually have any sympathy for her. Mommy dearest is crazypants, and has zero idea of appropriate boundaries. Like, for example, don’t point a loaded weapon at a police officer. As Taylor would say, that’s freaking rude.

“You were telling me about—”

There’s a thump against the door, and someone tries to open it.

My pulse jacks up.

Amelia aims her gun at the front door. “Answer it. Tell them to go away, or I’ll start shooting.”

I go to the door and raise my voice enough to be heard through it. “Stand back, I’m turning the deadbolt.”

Pressing my hand against the wood, I unlock it—and a ball of fury pushes through, knocking me down.

The gun goes off, smashing the light bulb over our heads.

“Do not shoot,” I yell out as loud as I can. “Everyone stand down, we’re fine in here. Right? Amelia? We’re fine.”

The ball of fury pops up, and my heart stops.

Taylor has crashed my hostage scene, and that is so not fucking okay.

“Mother,” she says coldly. Now I know where she gets that tone. I like it on her—and hate it on Amelia. “What the actual fuck are you doing?”

Way to calm down the lady with a gun, Taylor. Between her overt hostility and the tumbleweed entrance, I think it’s safe to say that my princess makes a terrible commando.

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