Page 71 of Fallout
“What kid?” She tried to keep Renee’s focus. The last thing she wanted was for her to search the suite for Maddox. Or see Mazey slowly crawling her way to the open door.
Renee laughed, the sound edged with a shrillness that told Mallory her stepsister was either high as a kite or she’d gone off the deep end completely. “The little shit they took from me.”
She shouldn’t be shocked by Renee’s lack of affection for Maddox. She’d proven her dislike of the boy numerous times. And yet, hearing her talk that way about that beautiful little boy still stunned her. “You mean your son? The one you neglected? Drugged?”
“I carried him for nine months, didn’t I? Spat him out, made sure he was alive? Isn’t that enough? What do I get for doing that? Nothing. You took him and my money!”
Mallory tensed when Renee stepped closer. “I d-don’t know where he is. I think he’s with his father.” She hoped the mention of Jacob would divert Renee enough to allow Mazey to crawl through the doorway.
“Rylan? He’s with my husband?”
Wow. Okay, her stepsister had stepped way over the crazy line. “Jacob.”
“No. No.” She waved the gun around and Mallory moved away from Alyssa, not wanting the other woman to be caught in the line of a bullet if Renee pulled the trigger. “He wouldn’t marry me. I needed him to marry me. To get the money.”
To anyone else that might not make sense. To Mallory, it made perfect sense. Renee had to get married to get her hands on her trust fund. Enter Rylan. Except that money hadn’t lasted long. She’d needed to have a child to get another portion of it.
“Enough!” Renee moved her arm, pointing the gun right at Alyssa. “Give me the kid or I shoot her.”
She didn’t think. Before the words had finished coming out of Renee’s mouth, Mallory was on her. Gripping her arm, she yanked it down, aiming the gun at the floor.
An explosion thumped her eardrums, pounded through her head. It wasn’t until her leg went out from under her that she realized what had happened.
Renee had pulled the trigger.
And if the pain stabbing into her thigh, bursting up her body into her head was any indication, the bullet had hit her.
21
Getting in the elevator, Jake smiled. He’d enjoyed the morning. He hadn’t hung out with a group of male friends in so long, he couldn’t actually remember the last time.
Jack’s phone dinged. Then Roark’s went, followed by Dash’s. Keaton was already pulling his from his pocket when it went off.
“What the fuck?” Roark growled. He looked at Jack. “Pen?”
Jack nodded.
“Same.”
“Me too.”
“What’s wrong with Penny?” Ry asked.
“She activated her personal alarm,” Jack explained.
Jake glanced at the floor indicator. They were halfway to the top.
“She can’t trip it by accident,” Dash said.
“I know.” Jack was tapping at his screen. “I’m not getting anything on the feed. Roark?”
“Nothing.”
They were a few floors below the top when the fire alarm blared through the elevator. Then a voice came through the tinny speaker in the wall above the buttons.
“Active shooter in building. The hotel is in lockdown. Repeat. Active shooter in building. Hotel in lockdown.”
“What the fuck?”
