Page 42 of Duke of Ruin

“I’ll give you what you want, but I need an expression of loyalty,” Gianni says. A cold fear shivers down my spine.

“What’s that?” I ask, fighting to keep my voice steady.

“Noah dies,” Gianni says.

I can’t mask the shock on my face, and Gianni sees it immediately.

“Unless you aren’t really interested in getting back into my circle,” he says. Noah turns to look at me, his expression blank, but I can read the feelings in his eyes. “I know you have your gun on you. I can see it from here,” Gianni continues. “End him now, and I will guarantee your safety.”

My pulse quickens. Now would be a great time for the cavalry to ride in and save us both, but Stacey wanted an admission of his collusion with the police.

“You expect me to shoot him in broad daylight? The cops will be pounding down my door by tonight, and then what’s the fucking point of all this?” I ask, trying to stall.

“They won’t come after you. We have an understanding. Now do it or you’re both dead,” Gianni says, then turns to get back into the car. His driver pulls his weapon and trains it on me.

My heart starts pounding. I don’t know what to do here. The FBI team should be storming the place right now. Where the hell are they? Noah looks up at me. His dark eyes are full of resolve. I notice that he’s worked one of his hands free, and I pray that I understand what he wants to do.

I take my .45 out of the holster and train it on Noah. He closes his eyes and leans forward, the picture of defeat. I take one last look around for any sign of the FBI, but they’re nowhere. The only people visible are my uncle and the driver, but I’d be stupid to think they’re the only ones here. We’re both probably going to die right here and now, but maybe Stacey was able to at least get the warrant executed.

“Eli!” Gianni roars, and steps back out of the car holding his phone.

I lift my gun and pull the trigger, putting three bullets into the chest of his driver. Noah rips the small pistol he has hidden in his pants leg upward and gets a shot off at Gianni as the driver fires back. His shots are wild and miss, but Noah gets at least two bullets into Gianni.

Gunshots ring out all around us. I look around but don’t see anyone; they must be coming from the roof. We crouch and run over to Gianni’s car, and Noah shoves his body away from the door. We jump into the backseat. I can only hope that the windows are bulletproof. Noah climbs over to the driver’s seat, but the keys aren’t in the ignition. We both scramble around looking for them, but Gianni’s hired man must have them in his pockets.

When I look out the windows, people wearing FBI logos are finally firing back. I dive out the door against Noah’s shouted protests and grab the driver. I rifle through his pockets until I find the key fob. I jump back into the car and Noah pushes the button and we peel out and away from the gunfire.

“Where are we going?” I finally manage to ask from the backseat while Noah drives like a maniac.

“The airport,” he says without looking at me.

Within minutes we’re there, and Noah grabs my phone. He calls Stacey and she answers. He walks away while talking with her, and I find a place to sit down. Everything happened so fast I can’t think. He comes back once he’s done with the call and grabs my arm, lifting me off the bench.

“We need to stay out of sight,” he whispers, and we walk toward the men’s room. Once inside I lean against the wall, and all my emotions bubble to the surface.

“What the hell was that?” I whisper-shout at him.

“She was executing the warrant, and she wanted Gianni distracted as long as possible,” Noah says without looking at me. I grab his arm, and his muscles tense beneath my touch as I turn him to face me.

“What the hell was that?” I ask again, more slowly this time.

“She was willing to let us die if it bought her enough time to get the evidence she needed,” Noah says. His voice is cold, but resigned. I guess I should have expected this. “Look, we’re alive, we survived, and the coordinator is on his way here. As soon as he arrives we’ll be pushed through security and onto a flight, and we can leave and never look back.”

“What about testifying and all that bullshit?” I growl at him. Someone walks through the door, but takes one look at the two of us and walks right back out again. Noah steps closer to me, and my blood starts to heat.

“Gianni’s dead.” Noah puts his hand on the wall next to my head. My heart starts to race and my traitorous body reacts to his proximity. “It’s over.” Another man walks through the door, his eyes widening as both our faces turn to him. When he leaves, Noah goes over and locks the door.

Relief washes through me, but so does anger. We were left out to be sacrificed, and Noah expected it to happen. Was he willing to die for Stacey to get the evidence she was after?

“Stacey’s pissed, but we’re getting what we were promised,” Noah says. He takes my hand, and I want to collapse into his arms and punch him in the face.

“What the fuck does she have to be pissed about?” I almost shout.

“I killed Gianni,” he says, and looks away from me. “She wanted him alive. I knew we’d never be safe from him even if he went to jail. I had no intention of letting him walk away today.”

I narrow my eyes at him—the sharp lines of his face, his dark eyes. His full lips seem to beckon to me. “When were you planning on letting me in on this?” I snap, but I step closer to him, my face only inches from his.

“I wasn’t.” Noah tilts his face toward mine.

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