A Whole New Crowd(107)

He wanted me to shoot Jace. I patted him on the back, confirming I understood and then he stopped. Jace moved closer. Then we heard Galverson behind him, saying, “Yeah. We’re in the tunnel. Complete evacuation. Have the trucks cover us.” He paused, then hissed out, “DEA is here. Send all the guards.”
They weren’t going down without a fight. I was watching Jace, still trying to search if the guy who brought me soda and ice cream was still in there. His eyes narrowed, like he knew what I was doing and if possible, he became even harder. “Move, Taryn. Now!”
I jerked at the hatred in his tone.
“Come on, man,” Tray started. He held his hand up.
I calculated the distance. He couldn’t lunge for him. Jace would shoot him. It was up to me.
Then Galverson cried out, “Let’s go. Kill them. We’re on a time table.”
“Get the f*ck over there.” Jace snarled, gesturing to the tunnel’s edge again.
Slowly, we began backing up. We needed as much time as we could get. As Tray shuffled me backwards, his hand moved back to my hip so he was still holding me. I started to look for the best angle to shoot from. I wanted Jace and Galverson lined up. I wasn’t wasting time. I was aiming for the chest. I could do it.
Jace’s voice came back to me as I remembered, ”Don’t think. Pull the trigger.”
I had asked, “And afterwards?”
“It’s you or them. When they fall, watch their chest. Don’t look in their eyes. Once they stop breathing, turn around and go. You’re the one walking away. That’s what you have to tell yourself.”
I was going to walk away. When we got to the edge, I tapped Tray on the arm. I was ready. It was time to do this.
Time slowed.
Galverson bellowed out again, “Kill him. Christ, what’s the hold-up? You didn’t hesitate to kill his dad. Find your balls again, Lanser.”
Tray drew in a sharp breath. “My dad?”
I bit down on my lip.
Jace didn’t react. He didn’t show any remorse. He only raised his hands again and took aim. Hearing shouts from back in the tunnel, he wavered and glanced back. Galverson was on his phone, but he flung his hand in the air and snarled. Then Tray lunged for Jace at that moment.
It happened so quickly.
I was left, stunned, as Tray was in the air. His hands went out to tackle Jace, and Galverson’s eyes went wide. Jace twisted back around. He dodged Tray, brought his elbow up and clocked him in the nose. Tray fell to the side, but he tucked his shoulder to help absorb the impact and kicked his leg. Jace blocked his leg, grabbed his shoulder, and turned the gun so he was holding the end. He was going to hit him with it.
I yelled out, “STOP!”
He didn’t. He rained it down, hitting Tray above the nose. My stomach rolled over at the sound of it. Tray tried to move aside, but Jace had him trapped. He couldn’t move. I raised the gun. “Jace, I mean it.” I turned the safety off. “Stop. NOW!”
He glanced up, then did a double take. His hand let go in an instant
Tray scrambled out from his hold, then stood to the side. I looked for a brief second, to make sure he was okay. When I looked back, Jace had his gun pointed at me. It was him and me now. I stared at him, feeling all the old layers of laughter, times he was my teacher, times he was my friend, times when he comforted me, and when he took me to my new home. One by one, those memories peeled away. He had been family. That was gone as well. There was nothing left.
“You’re a killer.”
Jace didn’t respond. He moved forward.
I moved back, just one step. The tunnel’s edge was right behind me now. “Stop, Jace.”
“What are you going to do, Taryn?” Finally. The stranger fell away, and the guy who had loved his brother stood in front of me now. He began to move so his back was to the wall.
I frowned. What was he doing?
Then Galverson stepped forward. He had a gun pulled as well, but it was held at his side. He was silent, watching us.
Jace continued, “If you fall, you die. If you don’t, you still die.” His hand loosened on the gun and he softened his tone, “What are you going to do, Taryn?”
I didn’t understand what he was doing. “Are you trying to bait me?”
He stared at me, long and hard.
“Taryn.” Tray was glaring at Jace, but he pointed to the river. I glanced down and saw three boats below, moving to place a net in the water. My heart couldn’t sink anymore, it really was over. If we jumped, they would catch us. There was no hope.
“You and Brian were like my family.”
Jace didn’t waver. “We were your family.”
I flinched. “Then why? Why all this?”