Heartbeats

Chapter 5

      “Almost thought you´d chicken out for a minute there,” Jerkface grinned, his teeth flashing white as he smirked. “Why don´t you step in?” The barrel of the gun dipped as he signaled me to enter.

      Here, the parking lot´s lights gave me a clearer view of his face. His eyes were a mixture of blue and green, a color that reminded me of the Mediterranean waves. I wouldn´t have called him cute, but he had an appealing quality about him, handsome in a more roguish kind of way.

      He caught me looking, and instead of blushing and looking away like my first instinct, I grinned.

      “No thanks. I´m good right here.” I told him.

      For a moment he looked incredulous as he nodded towards the gun, which was still aimed somewhere in the middle of my forehead. “I´m not giving you much of a choice.”

      I felt my grin inching wider. “You sure about that?” Raising my hand, I tapped his chest - still nicely encased in the black tuxedo - right above his beating heart, where a red dot was currently hovering.

      He glanced down in surprise. “Bloody Hell.”

      “Let me tell you something about my friend in the rooftop. She hasn´t missed once in the last six years.” I sounded like a proud parent. Jerkface´s face immediately twisted into a scowl. He slowly raised his hands until the gun faced the sky.

      I clicked my earpiece, my eyes steadily on him. “Alright Cam. Jerkface here is going to step slowly out of the van. If he moves too sudden or tries to climb back inside, you shoot.”

      “Copy that, Gin.”

      I watched as his face changed into an outright glare, his lips twisting into a grimace. Following my instructions, he stepped further away from the van, his arms still stiffly raised and the red dot still hovering on his chest. I signaled the gun, and he slowly passed it to me.

      “The safety´s still on.” I said surprised.

      He shrugged. “I´m no good with guns.”

      I looked at him in a new light. We shared something in common then, the gun I usually carried was generally just for show.

      “Hey, Rhett.” A new masculine voice startled me out of my thoughts. In a quick move, I took the safety off and twisted the gun in my hands until the barrel faced the source. I would only fire as a last resort, but it didn´t hurt to take precautions. I watched as a guy came into view from behind the van. “Is Caleb back yet? What´s-“

      He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening as he saw the gun in my hands. I gave him a quick appraisal.

      He wasn´t exactly bulky, but his well-formed muscles showed on his arms and the way they stretched his shirt. His light brown hair dusted across his forehead, his dark brown eyes widening in surprise. He was tall, though perhaps not as tall as Jerkface, but had at least half a head on me. A small stud in his left ear glinted under the parking lot light.

      “Hands were I can see them.” I ordered.

      He obeyed, and he glanced at Jerkface. “Garrett?”

      Jerkface -Garrett- motioned down at his chest. “Sniper.”

      “Gin, incoming.” Cam warned, and then she added with a sigh, “He has Reach.”

      A string of curse words floated through my mind.

      “Hey, too late to join the party?”