Page 66 of Legends: Easton
She peered under her arm to see Melvin crawling to Sabra’s side. His shirt rode up, revealing the gun tucked in his waistband. That gun was hers, the one he’d taken when he’d searched her, but Bailee couldn’t be sure if he had the other gun as well, the one he’d pulled on her. Melvin removed the gag from Sabra’s mouth and started pulling at her ties to break them.
Bailee wasted no time jumping to her feet and pulling Easton up. He rolled his head until he started into her face.
“I need you to stand. We have to get out of here.”
Easton leaned against her as he struggled to his feet. Bailee was strong and in shape, but Easton was heavy against her, making moving quickly an impossibility. They hobbled to the door, and Bailee prayed they reached it before Melvin freed Sabra and realized what they were doing.
Bailee reached for the doorknob but was inches from touching it before Melvin’s voice rang out.
“Don’t!”
Bailee turned, positioning herself in front of Easton. She glared at Melvin, aware that he pointed the gun not at her vest but at her head.
Melvin’s mouth twisted in a sneer. “You thought your little explosions would give you an escape?”
“I expected a distraction mostly. But that last one?” She smirked at him, and she liked seeing the doubt that sparked in his eyes. “That wasn’t me.”
Bailee felt the gun slip from her waistband followed by a double tap on her shoulder. She bent at her waist, leaning out of the way, as gunshots rang out one right after the other. She righted herself in time to see Melvin drop to the floor. Blood spread across his chest, and his eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, all the life gone from them.
Easton lowered the gun as his knees buckled beneath him. Bailee rushed over to use her body to support him, gently pulling the gun from his hand.
“No!” Sabra’s scream was ear-splitting, sending a chill down Bailee’s spine.
Sabra rushed over to Melvin and collapsed beside him. Her wails filled the room as she clung to his lifeless body.
“Come on,” Bailee murmured.
Her priority was to get Easton out to safety. Though it went against her law enforcement training not to secure the criminals first, she would come back for Sabra later. She needed Eastonout of harm’s way before she could do her job. He’d sacrificed too much for her not to put his needs first.
“No!”
Sabra’s scream was different this time. Bailee jerked her head up to see the woman reach for Melvin’s gun. Bailee dropped Easton to the floor and pointed her own weapon at the same time as Sabra stood with the gun drawn.
“Drop it, Sabra! It’s over.”
“You killed him! You killed her!”
“No, Sabra. Not me. You know it’s not me who’s responsible, so drop your weapon before you force me to do something we both regret.”
“It’s all your fault! You bitch! You ruined everything!”
The next several seconds were a blur. The door behind Bailee burst open. Two other figures hustled into the room and surrounded Sabra with their automatic weapons.
“Drop the gun!”
“Down on the ground!Now!”
Before Bailee could react, strong arms closed over the top of hers, lowering her weapon and subduing her.
“Bailee, it’s Luke. Stand down.”
She didn’t fight him, and she saw that Sabra was shaken enough to do what they demanded without resisting. The gun clunked to the ground, and Sabra collapsed to her knees with her hands raised.
Sobs wracked her body, and her wails chilled Bailee’s blood. She watched Ben rushed forward to secure her hands. Once Sabra was bound, Jackson checked for Melvin’s pulse, and Bailee snapped out of her trance.
“Oh, my God! Easton! Luke, we have to get him to a hospital. He’s hurt. He’s barely conscious.”
She struggled against Luke’s hold as her gaze fell on Easton’s crumbled form. Easton met her eyes, and she almost sagged with relief to see him conscious and alert.
