Page 81 of Vicious Seduction
“We need to move quickly, and two of them plus Wellington will slow us down.” Oran lifted his gun and shot Charles in the head.
Eliza screamed, then turned her pleading stare to me, terrified she was next. As if I would ever have sympathy for her.
Oran’s laugh was mercilessly cold. “No bullet for you,Eliza. I have something much better in mind for you.” He looked at the man I hadn’t met. “Keir, one of you bring any tape?”
“Didn’t have time, but they’ve got zip ties over here.” He picked up a pile of white plastic ties and began to secure Wellington, then Eliza, who both looked at Charles’s motionless body before reluctantly offering their hands in surrender.
“People will look for me, you know,” Wellington snapped. “A man like myself can’t just disappear without consequence.”
“Well, fuck me,” Oran said wryly. “Hedoesunderstand the concept of consequences. He just doesn’t think they apply to him. I’ve got news for you, Larry. I’m ready to accept the consequences of my actions. Are you?”
Wellington’s nostrils flared before he made to charge at Oran.
The man named Keir caught him, swung him around, and decked him with a fist to the face in a matter of two seconds flat. Wellington crashed to the floor unconscious.
“Don’t have time for this shit,” Keir muttered as he bent over and lifted Wellington over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.
Oran nodded toward the front door, wincing from the movement. “Which one of you fuckers shot me?”
“It was just a graze. You were in the way,” Conner grumbled.
I froze mid-step. “You’ve been shot?” I blurted.
“It’s superficial—nothing to worry about. Just hurts like a bitch.” He kept us moving, shooting a look at Conner. “I got them into the middle of the room for you. Least you could to was aim.”
“Whatever, pussy.”
Oran smirked, his teasing banter doing wonders to calm me. “Who’s got a knife?” he asked when we neared Gloria.
Keir tossed him a switchblade, which he used to free Gloria from her chair. “Everything’s going to be okay,” Oran assured Gloria. “Lina will hook up with you later to answer your questions. When the police arrive, you can tell them you were in the kitchen and didn’t see anything. All you know is that shots were fired, and when you came running, your boss and these other men were dead.”
Gloria nodded, eyes seeking mine for confirmation. I wrapped my arms around her in a crushing hug. “I’ll explain everything later, Mama G. Promise.”
“Si, mija. Be careful.”
“I will. Text me when you get home.”
Gloria nodded.
Oran guided me toward the door with his arm around my back. “No more time, Lina. We have to go.”
“Love you, Mama G,” I called, blowing her a kiss.
Sirens began to wail in the distance, but we were gone before they were in sight.
CHAPTER 44
ORAN
I hadLina go with Conner and Eliza to his place while Keir and I took Wellington with us. Keir had history with the Wellingtons and practically demanded to be in on whatever came next. I appreciated his enthusiasm.
We debated the plan as we drove. Keir suggested we take Wellington to his house and chain him in the attic. I was a fan of the irony and liked it for the long term, but I needed informationnow. I wanted to give Lina closure regarding her sister.
In the end, we decided to take him to Bastion because it was closest. The old meat packing plant we sometimes used for this sort of thing was too damn far away. Wellington was quiet in the trunk for now, but who knew when he’d wake.
We parked out front and got him inside quickly. He roused on the way in but was still groggy, making it somewhat easier to get him down the basement steps to the multipurpose room that sometimes stored supplies, sometimes people.
“Don’t know what you plan to accomplish with this,” Wellington spat as we secured him to the small metal chair in the center of the room, fear clearing away the last of the cobwebs. “You’ve already taken everything from me.”