Page 92 of The Pretenders of Copper County
I was. I was right here. And his belief in me meant everything. I raised my weapon again. If Nicky moved just a fraction of an inch…
“Reed?” Nicky laughed, lowering his arm and shaking his head as he walked away. “You mean your bodyguard? Oh, shit, you’re hilarious. No way he’ll find you before Yuri arrives.”
“Reed isprobablyon his way to save me,” Chris repeated calmly. “But it doesn’t matter. Because I amnotweak. Reed helped me see that. And I can save my own d-damn self.”
After that, two things happened simultaneously.
First, Nicky froze in shock in the center of the room—probably as stunned as I was that Chris had actually used fresh language—and I took aim.
Second, and more importantly, Chris propelled himself off the bench, yanking one of the exposed wires with him. Since the wire was no longer attached to the studs—or toanything, except the ancient ceiling fan suspended from a single joist in the center of the room—when he pulled, the wire lifted the fan a couple of crucial inches, and when he let the wire go, the force was strong enough to snap the rusted bolts attaching the fan to the joist.
The fan came crashing down on Nicky’s head and his gun went flying…
Like something out of one of those motherfucking inconceivably unrealistic episodes of John Ruffian.
“I amnevergoing to diss that show again,” I muttered. Then I ran around the cabin, took the two steps to the front door in a single leap, and finally,finally, got my arms around Chris.
I was not letting him go again.
CHAPTER 17
CHRIS
When Reed came crashingthrough the door, I jumped to my feet, thinking it was the Yuri guy Nicky had mentioned. It wasn’t until my face was buried in a familiar flannel shirt, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me tightly, and a warm, woodsy scent filled my nose that I realized it was over.
Reed was here, which meant I was safe.
“Baby,” Reed murmured into my hair. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I think…” I croaked, nestling into him further. “Now I am.”
The first instant that Nicky had stepped out of the woods in front of me earlier like some kind of demon in a horror movie, I’d been terrified, but by the time he’d forced me down on the pine needles so he could bind my wrists, marched me here at gunpoint, and started his ridiculous speech, my fear had turned to anger.
How flippingdare heblame me for everything? How flippingdare hetry to intimidate me? Howdare hemanipulate me and ruin everything for Reed?
The anger had cleared my head a lot. It helped meremember that Reedwouldfind me—he’d raze the forest to the ground to protect me if he had to, I knew that for sure—so the most helpful thing I could do would be to stay calm and keep Nicky distracted.
I wasn’t sure what had come over me when I’d noticed the ceiling fan hanging right above Nicky and recalled how wobbly it was, but I was pretty sure it had been Nonna’s voice in my head sayingYou can’t fight gravity, sweetheartthat had given me the idea.
I couldn’t wait to tell Reed about that. To hear his laughter.
But not yet.
Because the moment I knew I was safe, all the fear and longing and guilt I’d been holding at bay came crashing back like a tidal wave, and I found myself sobbing.
“Stay still, baby,” Reed said as I tried to squirm myself further into his embrace. “I need to free your hands.”
He pulled something from his pocket and, without stepping away, he managed to cut the zip tie. The second they were free, my arms flew around Reed’s waist and I fumbled to hold him with hands that had gone numb.
“Hold me,” I begged through my tears, though he already was. “Don’t let go.”
“Not on your life,” he muttered. “Not ever again.” And as if to prove it, his arms tightened, squeezing the breath out of me.
I didn’t mind.
“Nicky? Nicky!” I turned my head in surprise and found Uncle Danny on his knees beside my cousin, tapping him gently on his face. Nicky lay on the floor on his back, the weight of the ceiling fan pinning him down. He looked dead, but thankfully, I could still see his chest rise and fall. “Christoforo, come help me.”
It was a measure of how overwhelmed I was that I hadn’t even noticed Danny was here until he spoke.
