Criminal: A Bad-Boy Stepbrother Romance (10 page)

Ryder’s voice mutates into one of sick cheer
that turns my blood cold, "But, Kaiden, my boy. Don’t
worry. We do have a
very
special guest here tonight, so you
two can die and rot together."

He knows I'm here.

Abigail is here.

My hands clench into fists, and I stare at Ryder, my
green eyes locked on his steely blue gaze. I can't believe what a
fucking scumbag he is, and he's the guy that wants me to take the
fall for him.

My lips turn into a sneer, but I don't move an inch.
I have to bide my time, let him think he's won.

"Why're you doin' this, man?" I glare, my
arms loose and at my sides, ready for a fight. "I already
fuckin' agreed to do everything you wanted, and it still wasn't
enough.”

"Because, asshole. I knew you were gonna try
somethin' funny. Guys like you can't be trusted," Ryder said,
taking a step closer to me, his gun still in his hand.

It's me facing off against four thugs, and I have to
think fast.

Where's Abigail? She'll have her car, but we're
going to need to get to it, which means we're going to have to run,
and we have four guys with guns waiting for us to make a move. They'd
love to just shoot us in the backs.

"I wasn't gonna fuck you over, Ryder. I've been
here this whole fuckin' time just waitin' for the day I had to go
down for you, to pay my dues, but you won't even give me that? Three
fuckin' years I was lookin' at, and I stayed here the whole time,
just waiting for it, and now you're saying you didn't
trust
me? Why didn't you just kill me back then, huh? Why hold this over me
'til now? I could've fuckin' talked at any point and I kept my
fucking mouth shut, just like you wanted."

Ryder's eyes narrow and he paces just a foot in front
of my face, hands on his hips, gun at his side.

"You wanna know why I didn't kill you, you punk
piece of shit? Because you mean nothing to me. Less than nothing. You
were just some lost little kid and I took you in as the fall guy, but
now you've got your sights on bigger things, huh? Don't think I
haven't noticed how protective
big brother
is."

He smirks, and I've never seen him look so scary.

So cruel.

And I've seen him kill a man. I know that glint in
his eyes, the way he was drawing out the moment, savoring it.

"So now, the game has changed, hasn't it? You
have a reason to stay out, and put me away, is that what you think?"
He turns, putting the gun square to my chest and though I try not to
show it, I feel like my heart has just stopped and my life's flashing
before my eyes. He cocks the pistol, his blue eyes hard and cold.

It's not like it was the last time he had me at
gunpoint, asking me if I was gonna narc. That was just a test.

This is serious.

But instead, he laughs, and the thugs at his sides
don't know what to make of it. They shift, uncomfortably, as they
watch their boss and me.

"You've never been nothin' but a little fuckin'
punk that thinks he's got his shit together when you are nothing.
Nothing
, Kaiden. You hear me?"

He removes the gun from my chest, nodding at Mustang.
"Get the girl."

I see the boots move towards me, and I try to crawl
in further beneath the van. My eyes are blurry and I'm trying
desperately not to cry because I can't see and I need to be able to
move and think quickly.

We're a long way from my car, and I swear, I just
heard a gun get ready to shoot.

But when the guy moves towards me, I think fast,
pushing my gun in towards the front tire of the van. I hide it from
view, hopefully getting it close enough so that Kaiden can get it.

But how will he know it's there? I won't be able to
tell him...

There's not enough time to think about it. Someone
grabs my ankle, and I kick, but he's strong. It only takes him a
second to grip me and tug me from under the van.

I'm still in my work clothes, but I'd taken off my
heels to walk, leaving me in a slutty miniskirt and a flimsy top,
dirt covering my skin. I scream and kick at the man, trying to
struggle free, but it's no use. He's too strong, and he grabs me by
the waist, tossing me over his shoulder as if I weigh nothing.

Seconds later I'm tossed down to the dirt again,
right near the front of the van, the five of them surrounding me.
Kaiden tries to move to my side, but Ryder holds the gun on him again
and he freezes.

Ryder nods to the man that carried me over and
suddenly there's a gun on me too.

"You thought this was gonna be you getting out,
boy?" Ryder hisses, his voice filled with rage. "It's you
getting out, you and your little sister, but you're goin' on a one
way trip to hell," he says with a scowl. "Any last words?"

Kaiden's breathing hard, and I can see his face is
red from out of my bleary eyes, and he's looking at me with such
sadness it's breaking my heart. He looks so sorry, so fucking sorry,
and I just want to hug him and tell him it'll all be alright.

"Yea," he says, his voice softer than I've
heard it in so long. "Abby, I never meant to get you into this.
Never. I always just wanted to protect you," he says and Ryder
laughs, cruelly, as I'm shaking with emotion. "I love you,
Princess, you get me?"

I nod, and the gun at my head cocks and all I can see
is my imminent death.

"I love you too!" I practically screech, my
body shaking in the dirt as I cringe away from the gun.

My eyes are shut and I prepare for the end, our whole
miserable lives set to come to a close, and I can feel this deep,
dark pit in my stomach. And at the same time a weight lift off my
shoulders. It was a strange, inexplicable feeling that I’m not
sure I’ll ever understand.

The gun goes off… but I’m still alive.

I look, and there’s Kaiden. He’s slugged
Ryder and he’s coming for me. It’s a brief moment of
glory, my brother charging in to save me, be my hero once more! I
could cry, if I wasn’t already bleary-eyed and in a panic. But
it’s all for naught.

One of the other guys cracks Kaiden in the head, and
then the guy pointing his gun at me pulls the hammer back with a
click. Kaiden comes to a stop, fearful for my life, and once again…
it’s all over.

I can only watch as my brother is laid into, two guys
pounding on him in vengeance for his outburst.

“You’re gonna fuckin’ watch her
die, prick! But not before we make you pay for that lil’ show,”
says the guy over me, who moves over just enough to strike out with a
kick into Kaiden’s side. And it’s like I can feel every
blow that lands upon my big brother, twinges of guilt and sympathy
pain wracking my body.

I can’t wallow in the pity for long, though
because I notice that the man’s hold of the gun has wavered.
He’s watching Kaiden now, not me, and the gun I left beneath
that van is so very close…

I can rush for it, but I remember something I heard
on TV long ago: the human eye picks up on fast motion far quicker
than the slow. So instead, I’m cautious, and though it hurts me
to do so, I let Kaiden take a few more punches and blows. A cracked
rib too, by the sound of that crunch, and I’m so damn sorry for
him.

But it’s better than having no chance at all.

My hand reaches beneath the vehicle, searching
through the sand and dirt for the feel of my gun. For a moment I
worry that I’d placed it too far out of reach, but then…
oh yes, the cold press of steel to my fingers and palm.

I’ve got it!

I pull it out, slowly, slowly…
don’t
rush Abigail, don’t blow it
. I raise the weapon, point it
at the man over me— the only man still holding his gun at the
ready then— and squeeze the trigger.

The kick on the gun comes as a surprise, even though
it shouldn’t. I know what to expect, my father taught me, but
I’d never fired at a human before, and maybe that’s what
really gives it the kick. I pull the trigger on him, then I point at
the other guys.

“Leave him alone!” I scream, my voice
sounding manic, insane! I’m nearly out of my mind at this
point, watching Kaiden being beaten, knowing that they might’ve
done serious harm to him already, or worse.