🔍 Silver Tongue (Slow Updates) 🔎

Gun Fight at the OK Corral...Except I Don't Have A Gun

Did I neglect to say that the gunshots continued while the doctor delivered a baby through my gums? Because they did, constantly getting louder and deeper. Ivan and his doctor friend both had guns, of course, with the look of people who knew how to use them. They kept me between the two of them, Ivan taking point and my field dentist of a doctor trailing. It didn't sound as though Virtue were all that close, but Ivan was treating this like they were inside the house and we needed to escape.

As much as I felt naked as the only person in our trio without a gun, I had enough common sense to realize that I'd be the opposite of helpful with one in my hand. Sure, I'd held one before, but without any training for this type of situation I was more likely to hurt myself than one of the bad guys.

I couldn't believe I'd been so stupid. Virtue were the bad guys, using me to setup an ambush on my brother. I was a terrible judge of people. I mean I didn't like Charity, but she didn't seem the evil villainess type. And Patience. I was tempted to jump a guy who apparently wanted my brother dead.

You're a terrible judge of character, Emily.

The one thing that really made me wonder was Brad. I mean, Brad was Ivan's best friend growing up. Maybe they had a falling out? Even though Brad was a bastard, I couldn't imagine a situation where he'd help use me as bait to get Ivan killed. I guess it had been a long time and people changed, but not that much.

Maybe I was wrong, and they weren't the bad guys? I was missing a piece of the big picture here, but given that we were under assault, it was not the time to pepper Ivan with questions.

We reached the end of the hallway, which opened into a large kitchen. A few of the pink-dressed maids huddled with each other behind the counter. Ivan waved me back and peered around the corner.

"Shit," he cursed. "It's Temperance."

I remembered the name, one of those Virtue members I was never supposed to see.

"The former Sayeret Matkal?" the doctor asked. He rubbed his face. "Fuck. What now?"

I wasn't sure what Sayeret Matkal meant, but it had the two of them spooked.

"Plan B," Ivan said. "Take Em with you and meet up with Max."

I jerked my hand away and the doctor grabbed for it. "No," I said, sounding a lot braver than I felt. "I'm not leaving."

"Please, Em, I..." Ivan's eyes widened and he tackled me to the ground.

A spray of bullets cut through the air, where the two of us had been standing. The good doc had dropped low as well, the three of us hugging the floor like cockroaches.

"Does a cat have your silver tongue?" A woman's voice taunted. It sounded Middle Eastern, maybe Israeli?

Hold up? Israeli? Were we being hunted by a true to life Ziva David? I swear my brother knew the most interesting people. If she wasn't trying to kill us, I'd ask for an autograph.

"Go," Ivan snapped.

This time, I didn't fight, I crawled away with the doctor as fast as my legs would carry.

"I missed you, Temperance," Ivan said. "Diligence won't be happy you tried to kill me."

"Just a little foreplay, I promise," she said. "I taught you better, I hope." That was the last I heard as we turned the corner and ducked under the stairwell, fleeing towards the other side of the house.

I could see why we hadn't taken this path to start. All the glass windows gave no semblance of cover. The gunshots were quieter over here, as if they'd anticipated our route to begin with. As if they'd known how Ivan would think.

"Stop!" I said.

The doctor frowned, his brown eyes hard. "I promised Ivan I'd get you out of here and I will. Let's hurry."

I blinked. "You're the first person who's called him Ivan."

"Fantastic," he said. "So?"

"No, wait!" I said. "Where are we going?"

"We're taking the bulletproof suburban." He said. "It's out in the open, but with Virtue focused on Ivan, we should be able to make it if we hurry."

"And that's Ivan's plan, right?"

"Yeah," he said. He furrowed his brow. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that Virtue knows how Ivan thinks," I said. "What would you do differently?"

He rubbed his chin. "I'd double back, take the fire escape from the second floor and make a dash for the Spyder like the original plan."

I jerked my head towards the stairs. "Then let's do that," I said.

We ducked low and rushed back towards the hallway, where Doc led me up the stairs. I had two seconds to view a master bedroom the size of my duplex, before sprint into a bathroom the size of my living room.

How the other half lived...

Doc pushed a set of glass doors to the side, which led to a small balcony with the escape ladder. He pulled the lever, the ladder creaking as it decompressed to the ground. He darted down the ladder and I followed as quickly as I could, thankful I hadn't taken those red heels to start.

I'd only took a couple of steps when I twisted my ankle on something hard. It seemed so stupid, like one of those horror movie clichés, but I guess they were clichés for a reason. When you were running for your life, common sense – like watching your steps – often fled.

I didn't fall to the ground and beg for my life, however, I kept pace as best I could, unable to put much weight on my right foot. My eyes scanned the ground from that point on.

It wasn't until I'd nearly run into Doc's back that I realized I'd overcorrected. He was steps from the gaudy, blue and red sports car, but his shoulders were tense, his gun pointed at a man I'd seen before.

Patience.

I'd forgotten how big the man was. Doc hasn't a small guy, but Patience's tall, thick frame made him look average. They were locked in a Mexican standoff...in Mexico. The irony was not lost on me, even in this moment.

I wished there was something I could do.

It wasn't until I felt the warmth near my head that I realized how much of a liability I'd been.

"Humility," Charity's said from behind me. "I suggest you drop that gun before you have to explain to Silver Tongue why his sister's brains got scattered over this beautiful lawn."

I snarled. I knew there was a reason I didn't like this bitch.