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Sophie turned to the voice behind her, finding Candy standing in the doorway. “Candy? Kevin?”
Kevin walked from behind Candy with hands up in front of him. “Honey. Don’t do this. If you kill him, you could never forgive yourself. You’re no killer.”
“He took you from me. He destroyed our family. He was going to sell our daughter into sex slavery,” Sophie cried.
Matteo and Diego rushed in with their men’s guns drawn. “What’s going on?” Matteo laughed when he saw the sight before him. “Well shit, James. You finally pissed off the wrong woman. Looks like this little lady kicked your ass. You look like hell.”
Sophie blinked rapidly to allow her eyes to adjust to the contrast of dark and light in the garage. “Matteo? What are you doing here?”
“Give us the gun, Sophie. My men and I will take care of this.”
“No! He deserves to die, and I’m going to be the one to do it. There are so many women and young girls. Have you seen that building outback? They’re just children. He’s a monster,” Sophie said with a sob.
Candy handed the gun to Slade and slowly walked to her mother. She could see the police lights shining over the room as they approached. “Mommy. The police are here. You don’t have to do this. Matteo has a plan. He won’t get away this time. He won’t make it through the night.”
“What do you mean?” Sophie dropped the gun to her side.
Matteo walked over and whispered in her ear. She looked over at her husband and daughter with a knowing nod.
Matteo patted her back. “I’m sorry I let him take you from my club out west. I didn’t know until it was too late. Sophie, together we can help those women and prevent him from destroying more families.”
Kevin nodded in agreement. “It’s over, Sophie. Give the gun to Matteo.”
She looked at the gun in her hand and back to James. She smiled and hit him one more time across the face, for good measure.
James spat out a tooth and laughed. “I’ll be out of jail in an hour.”
Matteo’s guard untied James, and Matteo handed him the gun. “No. You won’t. Your lawyer has had a slight mishap. He didn’t make it,” Matteo smirked. “Stand him up.”
Two men pushed James to his feet.
“What are you doing?”
Kevin walked over and got in James’ face. “See those red and blue lights. They’re here for you. Cops you have wronged were on the force tonight at the same time this went down. You are going to walk out that door and draw that gun.”
“Hell no! They’ll kill me. They’re all dirty cops. I can’t draw on a cop.”
Candy looked shocked and turned to Matteo. “This is your plan? Let the police shoot him.”
“Yes. This way we’re protected. James pays for his crimes and we all walk away.”
James laughed, saying, “If I die, Matteo, you will never get your money. Diego won’t let you out of here. Who do you idiots think I answer to?”
“You fucking rat.” Diego backed toward the door, and all of Matteo’s men drew their guns on him.
“Thank you for confirming my suspicions, James. Do you think I was stupid enough to not realize who was behind this? My men have already taken the drugs and weapons from your other barn. Payment with interest. I’m handing over the money to Kevin and Sophie so they can start over. A half-million should get them a good start.” Matteo walked over to the man whose life was taken away. “Kevin, I think we need to take care of some loose ends. Don’t you?”
“Seems about right. It’s time someone pays for all this.”
“I agree, Diego. I told you I would get behind all this. You thought you were playing Kevin and I. We suspected you from the start. You should have learned by now that inmates tell stories. Kevin learned a lot about making nice with the Mexican gangs.”
Diego turned to tell his men to take care of them, and they all turned their backs to him. “You traders! Kill them!”
Matteo patted Diego’s top man on the back, and the man nodded to him. “They have had a change in employment. Kevin, I think it’s time James retaliates against his boss for ratting him out to the cops. Don’t you?”
Kevin nodded. “Sounds good. James can do the honors.”
James looked dumbfounded. It was true. Guns terrified him, and his little toy cap gun wouldn’t save him now. “You want me to kill him, then walk out and point it at the police? That’s why you handed me the gun?”
Kevin stopped Matteo. “We need to get the girls out of here first. They don’t need to see this.”
“I agree. Gage. Slade. You both need to go, too. Head to the back barn and show the police where the women and children are being held.”
As soon as they turned away, one of Matteo’s guards grabbed James’ hand, forcing him to hold the gun to shoot Diego in the head. The gun fired and the drug lord dropped to the ground. The loud boom made Candy and Sophie scream as they exited the back entrance.
Soon after, Matteo’s men forced James to head out the front door. As soon as he reached the door to the outside, he pulled away, turning to draw his gun at Candy.
When Slade looked back, she witnessed James aiming at her. With quick reflexes, he jumped in front of her and pulled his gun, shooting James with one shot. His hands shook, and the man dropped to the ground with a thud. Realizing he had just shot a man, he stood frozen in place.
Candy looked back, realizing what just happened. “Slade. Oh god.” She wrapped her arms around him and turned his face to look her in the eyes. “It’s okay. Drop the gun. You saved my life.”
Slade’s eyes closed, and his head leaned into her soft touch.
Matteo went over and took the gun from his hand, trembling in fear. “It’s okay, Slade. Give me the gun.”
Matteo and the men headed out the back to avoid police and rushed into the dark woods. Even though the officers were in on the plot, they needed to make it look as if James and Diego acted on their own. Now looking as if it was a deal gone wrong.
Once the commotion stopped, Sophie stood in front of the outbuilding where James held the women. Hearing the officers’ guns blazing in the distance, she took a breath of relief, saying, “It’s over. He’s dead. The girls are safe.”
Kevin pulled the broken woman into his arms and she collapsed into him, crying and holding on tight. Candy rushed over, hugging her parents, and Slade followed, still in shock.
As officers surrounded them, Gage opened the doors of the barn. The sight of several scared women and young girls was horrifying.
Sophie covered her mouth and buried her head in Kevin’s chest. After she regained her composure, Sophie walked up to the door. “It’s safe now. He’s gone. You can come out.”
Slowly, the kidnapped victims made their way out of the building as officers helped them to safety.
Kevin turned to his wife. “Let’s go home.”
Sophie hugged him, nodding yes.
Walking over to Slade, Candy could see the fear in his eyes. The feeling of taking a life was overwhelming for the wrestler who was her entire world. She softly said, “It’s over, Slade. You saved my life.”
An officer walked up and let them to the side of the barn, into the shadows. “Get out of here. We don’t want the media finding you here. This looks like a trafficking deal gone bad. We don’t want the women realizing you’re all here and anything leaked to the media. It’s dark, so I don’t think they saw who you are yet. We’ll track this back to prove he kidnapped Candy and Sophie and forced you into this. We won’t let anyone know you were here tonight. It’s the only way to clear Kevin’s name.”
Gage nodded to the women who were being taken toward the house. “Thank you. Will they be okay?”
The officer smiled. “They will be now. Thanks to all of you. We’ve been trying to take this down for a long time. You did a wonderful thing here tonight.”
Gage and Kevin led them all back to the cars, and Slade looked back at the barn as they walked, still shaken.
Candy took his hand. “Slade? Are you okay?”
Slade looked back at Candy with tears in his eyes, the pain bearing down on him. He took her in his arms and held her as tight as he could. “I told you I would never let him touch you. You’re mine.”
“Always. Yours.”
