“How long is your boss planning on keeping me here? Another hour? Two? Twelve? A few days?” She did her best to get through to him.
“What’s your point?”
“Mypointis, if we don’t get it to flush, it won’t take long for this entire room to start smelling really bad. I’m assuming you probably don’t want to have to face that every time you come in here…do you?”
The twisting of his upper lip was the first sign Evie had that her plan might actually work.
“Fine. But you’re going to come into the bathroom with me and stand right the fuck next to me while I take a look.”
That’s the only way my plan will work, big guy.
“Of course.” Evie gave a dutiful nod.
She followed the angry man back into the bathroom and over to the awaiting toilet. Unlike her, he was rough and loud, pulling the tank’s lid off with a grumble, letting it clang loudly against the bowl’s closed lid.
“It’s just the fucking chain.” He reached into the reserved water to reattach what she’d recently undone.
Now!
With his dominant hand submerged, Evie took full advantage of the moment and reached for the asshole’s gun. She yanked as hard as she could, nearly stumbling back in theprocess, but even as the man’s startled form swung around to stop her?—
“Freeze!” Evie shouted, taking several steps backward to widen the space between them. The gun was much heavier than she’d imagined, and it was impossible to conceal the trembling in her hands.
She’d only shot a gun a few times, and that was back when Preston and his so-called friends had fancied themselves future marksmen. She’d accompanied them to the range, and that’s where she’d learned the basics of firing a pistol.
“That was very, very stupid.” The man’s deep voice sounded as he held out a hand. “Give me back the gun before you hurt yourself.”
“I don’t plan on hurting myself,” Evie warned. “I only plan on hurting you.”
She didn’t. Not really. She only wanted to be free.
“You have no idea what you’re doing, little girl.”
“Maybe not, but I am the one with the gun.”
Anger flourished behind his deadly gaze, and she could tell he wanted nothing more than to kill her. But unless he somehow managed to get the gun from her, that wasn’t going to happen.
“What do you want?” he asked, as if he actually cared.
“I want you to stay right where you are and don’t even think about following me.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“If you don’t, I will shoot you.”
Please, don’t make me shoot you.
“You’re not going to shoot.” He scoffed. “Look at how shaky you are. In fact…” He started walking her way. “I bet I could walk right up to you, and take that gun from your poor little han?—”
A deafening blast filled the small room as he reached for the gun with the intent of taking it away. Evie didn’t even rememberpulling the trigger, but she must have, because with her very next breath, the man stumbled back and fell to the floor.
Bright red blood began to seep onto the tiled floor beneath him as he lay still with his eyes closed. There was a growing stain in his shirt surrounding a singed hole in the man’s upper right shoulder, and…
Holy shit!
She’d just shot him. Actually freakingshothim! His chest still moved with slow, shallow breaths, so he wasn’t dead. Yet. Still, Evie hadn’t planned on shootinganyonein her attempts to escape.
What did I just do?