Chapter 22
Harley
I shoved Amanda behind me, far away from the window in the room just as Dash had told us to. The other women and I were all huddled together, trying to protect Amanda as best we could. The truth was that we were all scared.
The men were out there and the shooting was constant, but inside, we were trying to stay strong for Amanda. She was crying, whimpering as she held on to me tightly.
Why had Dash given me the gun? Why would he even think I was capable of holding it correctly? I had spent the past seven years surrounded by guns, by men who carried guns—but that didn’t make me an expert at it. In fact, I was far from it.
I shuddered and the gun shook in my hand as I tried hard to hold on to it tightly. All I knew was I was supposed to point it in one direction and pull the trigger. Nothing else. How hard was I supposed to pull, where was I supposed to aim? Dash instructed me not to hesitate. How was I going to do that?
Behind me, Amanda whimpered some more. I held the gun with both hands now, pointing it at the door and I looked over my shoulder at my daughter.
Alexis was the one holding her hand now, while Lila was trying to comfort her by stroking her hair.
“Baby, it’s going to be all right. We’re all here with you,” I said, trying to put on a smile for her.
“Why is this happening? Why do you have a gun, mommy?” Amanda cried.
“It’ll all be over soon, I promise,” I said but the tears didn’t stop rolling down Amanda’s cheeks.
“Where is Dash? Why did he go out there?” she demanded to know.
“He’s out there protecting us, baby.”
“I didn’t want him to go,” she cried some more, blubbering.
“I know. Baby, please don’t cry. Just try and stay calm,” I tried.
I wished I could hold her and comfort her now, but my hands were occupied by the gun. I couldn’t touch Amanda because I still had it pointed at the door.
“It’s okay, hun,” Alexis said and picked her up in her arms.
“It’ll all be over in no time and then we can finish that candy out there,” she said jovially.
But none of this working. I couldn’t find a single way to pacify Amanda. I thought we were going to be safe here, away from the Hell’s Drifters and Caesar. But I shouldn’t have expected it to happen so quickly. I should have known that the path to safety was going to be stormy.
For now, all I could do was hold the gun and try and stop myself from shivering while I kept it pointed at the door.
I trusted Dash. He was going to be back here very soon.
***
We must have been standing there, waiting for the firing to stop, for no more than ten minutes, but it felt like we’d been there forever. Every time a shot was fired and there was a break in the shooting—we hoped it was over but another one was fired soon after.
I was beginning to fear that some of the men fighting to protect us were hurt. What if Dash was hurt? I could feel tears welling up in my eyes again.
Another shot was fired close to us. It felt like it was fired right there in the room beside us. All of us screamed in unison and Alexis ducked down with Amanda in her arms.
We were all crying and shuddering together.
The shooting died down for a few moments again, giving me a chance to breathe when there was a sudden crash behind us.
Someone had smashed through the only small window in the room.
I saw the flash of a man’s elbow and then an arm reaching in.
“Kaya!” I screamed. She was the only one standing close to the window and now the man had caught her by the hair.
She screamed. Amanda was screaming and crying in horror while Kaya struggled to slip from his grip.
We couldn’t see the man’s face, but I knew he was from the Hell’s Drifters. He continued to tug at Kaya’s hair. He was going to try and pull her out.
“No!” I screamed and ran to the window. Using the butt of my gun I rammed it into his arm.
“Fuck!” we heard a groan and then he was reaching his hand in again.
“Fuck you!” I screamed. Before I even knew what I was doing, I’d pointed the gun in his direction and pulled the trigger. It happened so fast for me to know if I’d actually caught him in the arm. He’d disappeared away from the window soon after.
Kaya ran to the other side of the room, whimpering and crying and the rest of us moved away from the window as well.
I kept the gun pointed at the window. It was higher than us, so they would have to come close to fire. I had never used a gun before but desperate times called for desperate measures.
If any of them came close to the window again, I was going to shoot.
Where was this determination coming from? I felt powerful when I held the gun in my hand. Just moments ago, I was crying as well. I felt weak and broken and now that I’d come face to face with danger like this—I wasn’t going to back away.
Maybe this was the bravery the women and Dash were talking about.
I’d just never noticed it in myself before.
I stood there with the gun in my hand and my eyes fixed on the window. Nobody was getting close to Amanda or the others. Fuck the Hell’s Drifters. They were going down.
***
I didn’t notice when the shooting finally stopped. I was so focused on the window and the gun in my hand. It was only when Dash ran into the room, kicking the door open, that I blinked and came back down to Earth again.
I turned to see him. He was standing there, tall, with his shoulders heaving and his dark eyes intense.
“What happened here?” he asked.
“Some guy tried to pull Kaya out through the window,” Lila explained.
“Mommy shot him. In his hand!” Amanda squealed and Dash looked at me again.
The weight I was carrying on my shoulders suddenly weighed me down. I hadn’t even realized the kind of responsibility I was shouldering just moments ago. My lips quivered just as Dash lunged at me, pulling me into his arms.
Our lips met and the other guys stormed into the room to check on their women. Dash had me in his arms and we were kissing deeply. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pinning myself close to him. It was fine now. He was here. The shooting had stopped and we were all going to be safe.
I pulled away from him gently and saw Amanda standing there. She ran to us.
“Dash!” she squealed and he lifted her up in his arms.
“You okay, baby girl?” he asked her, looking her over for marks or bruises. She nodded her head and wrapped her tiny arms around him. It melted my heart to see them like this.
“What an adventure we’re having!” he exclaimed and put her down again. Amanda reached for my hand and I squeezed tightly, running my fingers affectionately through her hair.
“I’m sorry for this, Harley. This shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have brought Amanda and you here,” he said.
I looked down at my daughter. Amanda was brave. For a seven-year-old who had never seen a gun before, she had taken the whole incident very well. However, this was not the kind of violence I wanted to expose her to. This was exactly the kind of life I wanted to take her away from.
“I can’t let this happen to her again,” I said and Dash nodded.
“I know. I won’t let it.”
He reached for me, holding my cheek tightly in his hand as he stroked it.
“Dash…” I said his name in a whisper and he looked intently into my eyes.
“I want you to end this tonight. I want us to start our new life in the morning,” I said.
Dash looked at me blankly for a few moments and then he nodded his head.
I knew he was going to do his best. He was going to do whatever it took to end this tonight. I looked down at Amanda again and smiled at her.
“I promised it was going to be all right, didn’t I?”
She hugged my legs and I met Dash’s eyes again. He winked at me and smiled, but I just didn’t have the heart to smile back at him. Not yet. Not when I was feeling so afraid again.