Page 10 of Bound

He's got a gun. . . That guy has a gun.

I knew what that sound was, it was hard to mistake it as anything else, even if my brain did its best to alter my perception. But I was in tune with that noise, the heavy click, the croaking of metal as it was pinned back.

That sound was now burned into my brain, a nightmare that I knew I'd relive every time I closed my eyes.

“Don't make me do this right now, you can walk away from this, it's your one free pass. But, this is it, you're only getting one.”

Peeking around his shoulder, I saw a tall, thin man blocking the exit. His eyes were black as hell, and a thick scar ran down his cheek. His hair was short, buzzed on the sides, and a little longer on top.

But, his eyes, his eyes scared the piss out of me. There was nothing in them, no remorse, no shred of compassion, no care for anyone else. They looked dead.

“You aren't going to do a fucking thing. You should have listened in the first place, but you didn't.” The scarred man tipped his head into his shoulder, lifting the gun higher. “This is your fault, you fucked up.”

“I did what I had to do. I thought he understood that, it wasn't done out of disrespect. I just couldn't do it.” I felt a protective hand on my side as the man in front of me stepped back, and pushed me deeper behind him. “Let her go, let her out, and then the two of us can talk.”

The angry man prowled closer, bringing the gun eye level with my protector. Baring his teeth, he snarled, “There is no talking. As far as I'm concerned, she's here, she's a part of you. Did you forget how this shit works?”

I wanted to vomit instantly, the heat filled my throat, and I had to do everything I could to not drop forward and hurl. Choking as I swallowed the lump in my throat, I covered my mouth with the back of my arm.

I don't belong here, not for this.

I need to go, I need to leave right now.

In pure desperation, I looked around for another exit, but was met with nothing but brick walls. All I wanted was to go back inside the club. I shouldn't have been there, I wasn't meant to be a part of any of this.

I'm fucking trapped, there's nowhere to go.

I had one way out of that fucking death trap, and it brought me right past the man with the gun.

Taking in long slow breaths, I raked my fingers through my hair, and pushed deeper into the wall, anxiously wishing for a new escape to emerge and grant me a free pass.

Maybe he's just trying to scare him. Maybe he wants to make a point.

Closing my eyes, I dug my nails into the brick, listening to the man as he threw down threats and last words.

“Nothing will ever make this right—not now, not ever again. You know what I have to do, don't pretend you don't. This wouldn't be happening if you had just done what you needed to do in the first place. But you didn't, you fucking left like the pussy you are.”

“You weren't there, you have no fucking clue. I'm asking you to walk away, just leave. I know you, Frankie, I've known you for a long time.” He was pleading for a solution, doing his best to keep his voice level and calm. “Is this worth it, man? Am I worth all this trouble?”

My body tensed up as I heard his plea floating through the air like a thin sheet of paper, splitting apart with every word. He had no way out, no way to stop whatever was about to happen.

We were trapped like caged animals, the predator a stone throw away, eager and ready to end it all.

“You want the truth?” The man asked, his voice eerily collected. “You ain't worth shit. . .” There was a moment of silence, a single second where all I could hear was my heart hammering inside my chest. “But none of us are, we're all disposable.”

My phone.

A light flicked on in my head as a little voice took charge, reminding me that I wasn't completely helpless. I had a way to stop him, something that could get both of us out of this mess.

My pocketbook hung around my shoulder, dangling at my side. Lowering my hand inside as quietly as possible, I tugged out my phone. My fingers were shaking, quivering so violently I could barely keep the phone steady in my palm.

Dialing the police, I lifted the phone to my ear, as anxiety filled my veins like boiling water. The ringing seemed to go on forever, ring after ring, it was an endless torture against my eardrum.

A loud pop rocked my chest, the flash so bright it ignited like a lightening bolt during a thunder storm. Jerking my body away from the blast, I turned to face the wall, pushing the phone so hard against my ear it hurt. My heart was racing, pulse kicking so intensely I thought my veins were going to burst out of my skin.

No! He shot him!

Pick up! Pick up the fucking phone!

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