Page 39 of Deadly Ruck
Chelsea
The momentary distractionof me shooting a bullet into the ceiling of the aircraft was all they needed.
Atlas shot the gun out of Jones' hand with precision a surgeon would be proud of.
At the same time, Nyla shot Jones in the foot.
He cried out loud in pain and surprise, shaking his hand and pulling his foot back towards himself.
"Fucking hell!" He threw himself down as his minions, and those working with Nyla, used the same distraction to fire at each other. A couple of shots and all that were left were Nyla's men, and mine.
The aircraft rolled to a stop, but the engine was still running.
I looked at Atlas questioningly, but he shrugged and stepped over a couple of bodies to tap on the cockpit door.
Nyla put away her gun and grabbed a set of handcuffs one of her men pulled out of his pocket and handed to her. She dangled them from her outstretched finger, right in front of Jones' face.
"There's two ways this goes down. You come willingly, or we hold you down and put these on you."
"Fuck off," he snarled. He eyed his gun, which still lay on the floor a few metres from him.
Before he could make a move, I dropped down to scoop it up. "There's a third option," I said.
"You let me walk away from here and I'll leave you alone," he said. He held the side of his shoe, his thumb pressed down on where the bullet must still be lodged. He was trying to stop from showing how much pain he was in. Trying, but failing.
The doctor in me wanted to help him, to take the bullet out. The rest of me wanted to put another bullet in him, not in his foot.
"I think we all know that wasn't the third option I had in mind," I said.
"I know it wasn't," Dallas said, coming up behind me.
"I do too." Jay trailed Dallas.
"You don't have the guts," Jones sneered. "You'd rather fix my foot. You know why? Because you're weak. Women don't have what it takes to get the job done. That's why I know you won't kill me. Neither will Nyla. You're both too soft."
"That's bullshit," I said flatly. "Believe me when I say it takes more strength to resist the very great temptation to kill you than it would to pull the trigger again. This way, you get to pay for the things you've done. For what you wanted to do to me. What you did to Nyla. To fuck knows how many other women."
"You can try," he said derisively. "We both know the Crimson Vipers will come and get me."
"They have to know where you are first," Nyla said. "And that place has to be somewhere they'd dare to go. Somewhere they didn't risk being chained up beside you." She glanced at me to indicate she was referring to my brother's workroom. If anyone was in any doubt.
"Isaac would have fun with him," I said.
"Speaking of Ice, you should come and see this," Atlas said from the cockpit.
With Nyla and four of her men standing over Jones, guns aimed at his head, I figured it was safe to leave them to it for a few moments.
I stepped around them and moved to join Atlas. "What is it?" I peered out of the front windscreen of the aircraft.
My brother stood on the runway, Hunter and Parker beside him. Storm, Frost and Ramsey stood on the other side. They all had guns trained on the pilot.
"I figured we should stop," the pilot said nervously.
"Good call," Atlas said. He waved back as Ice waved at him, then at me when he saw me standing at Atlas' shoulder.
He looked relieved to see me alive and in one piece. Admittedly, I was a little teary now. They would all have risked themselves to stop the plane from taking off. They could have been mowed down.
When the twins and my boyfriends realised I was there, they all started waving frantically and smiling.
