LBAWP | Chapter 18

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Special thanks to all my advanced readers who helped me edit this chapter and come up with questions! 

I also posted the STAWP art contest finalists! They are: Silver_Fox1 pettybrowngirl floatsus ChilledRandomHottie PupPlays toolong_tooshort

Congratulations: Your covers are all so amazing! Everyone, you should check them out and of course vote on your faves, because 1st 2nd and 3rd place go to the finalists with the most votes by October 1! 

I'll be using the winning cover for the book for a full week to show off the artist's work, and of course there are prizes!!


Saffron

I keep my hands over my head, but bend them at the elbows slightly, bringing myself closer to a fighting stance. I've had a lot of practice in hand-to-hand combat with Dad, but this time is different. It's the first time I'm not alone—the first time I feel that my wolf is with me. Thankfully, the two of us are on the same page and the idea of mating doesn't even cross her mind. The only thing she cares about—the only thing we care about—is escape.

Robbie gestures for me to exit the cell and I try to look innocent as I step forward. I keep my arms relaxed so that he thinks it's a show of surrender and not attack. Meanwhile, my wolf stays alert and on the ready. She focuses my attention on the gun that Robbie has trained on us and makes sure I notice when he slips his keys in his back pocket. I can feel her tensing, too, as we get closer to freedom, ever aware of Robbie's raised weapon.

"It's just this way." Robbie gestures to the left with his chin.

It's clear that he wants me to go first, but the direction he's chosen is the opposite of the one that Kyle took. I didn't even think there was anything past Jess's cell, and for the first time, I wonder if this might be a trap. Is Robbie setting me up? Does he plan to shoot me and say it was self-defense? Or maybe he has some other sinister plan in mind?

I glance at him, but aside from looking a little nervous, he looks pretty innocent. He's not leering at me or anything like that, and I don't see malice in his eyes. There could really be bathrooms in that direction... or there might not be.

I glance at the gun as I exit my cell. Robbie's got the muzzle trained on my chest, so I know better than to make any sudden movements. Not yet.

My wolf stays hyper-aware, waiting for an opportunity. When Robbie lowers his gun slightly so he can close the cell door, she propels me into action. I move so fast that my lips part in shock. I wonder if Robbie's do too, but I'm too focused on the gun to pay attention.

I grab his wrist and twist it until he lets go. The gun crashes to the dirt floor and bounces safely to land a short distance away. Robbie whimpers in pain, but I continue to twist his wrist until I have his arm locked behind his back.

I do everything just like how Dad taught me, only faster. My foot shoots out next, my muscles reacting before my brain has a chance to catch up. Next thing I know, Robbie's falling face-first onto the dirt floor and my wolf is howling with satisfaction.

I maintain a grip on Robbie's arm and scramble onto his back. Then, I press my knee roughly between his shoulder-blades, and Robbie howls in pain.

"Quiet," I hiss as his cry echoes down the hall. "Don't move. Don't make any noise."

I pull on his arm roughly to show him that I mean business. Robbie doesn't even whimper, just nods his head wildly. The only indication that he might be in pain is his ragged breathing, and I loosen my grip slightly.

For a few seconds, no one makes a sound. Then, Jess inhales sharply and whispers, "I've never seen anyone move so fast. That was epic."

I realize that I've pinned Robbie literally right in front of her cell. When I look up, she stares back at me with red-rimmed eyes that are wide with shock. There are black spots beneath them, suggesting a lack of sleep, and her skin is deathly pale. Her blond hair, usually silky clean, is matted and caked with dirt. She looks so much skinnier than I remember, too, in the cargo pants and dirty white t-shirt one of the guards must have given her.

I want to run over and hug her, but she's still locked behind bars. Focusing on that—and setting her free—I reach into Robbie's back pocket to grab the keys. He doesn't move a muscle or struggle, and I easily retrieve them and toss them to Jess.

Do you have the keys? Amaryllis whispers, her words filled with hope.

"Yeah. Which one is it?" Jess looks over the dozen or so keys.

"Which key opens the cell?" I demand, digging my knee harder into Robbie's back.

"Silver one." He grunts in pain.

"That's like half of them." Jess groans, grabbing a random key and trying it. The key ring jingles and the key clangs loudly against the cell door.

I keep a hold of Robbie while Jess stands up on tiptoe so she can reach her hand out of the cell to try and unlock the door. I consider letting Robbie up so he can do it, but I don't want him to be in a position where he can fight back. Even if I dive for the gun, there's a chance he can disarm me, so I leave it up to Jess.

My heart hammers in my chest, getting faster with each passing second. It feels like forever before she finishes trying the first key, and finally moves on to the second, and then the third.

"What the hell?" Someone suddenly shouts from down the hall. His voice echoes from the direction Kyle took earlier, but the voice is too guttural to belong to the stocky guard.

I swivel around, keeping my knee firmly in Robbie's back as I take in the giant at the other end of the hall. He's so tall that his bald head nearly reaches the ceiling. He's also almost as wide as the hallway and looks like he weighs about three or four hundred pounds. Most of that is muscle, and his t-shirt shows off huge, tanned biceps covered with tattoos. You'd think all the snakes and spiders and skulls—not to mention his sheer size—would make him tough, but the giant looks terrified.

He's got a death grip on his gun and his beefy hand shakes uncontrollably as he raises it. His chunky thumb trembles just above the safety, and his eyes dart to the woman next to him. She's not another guard. Not in the long, flowing dress that looks like she just got back from a picnic. The giant's got a death grip on her shoulder, and she lets out a yelp and grimaces in obvious pain.

There's something familiar about her, and when our eyes meet, it clicks. She's an older version of the girl I sat across from in the cafeteria. Her eyes are the same shade of ice blue as the ones that had looked up from the book. She also has the same long, flowing red hair and pale, freckled skin. There is no doubt in my mind that she's Amaryllis's mom.

"On your knees," the giant shouts at her. He shoves her forward with more force than is necessary, and she crashes to the ground and slides painfully across the floor. "Hands on your head. Now!"

She scrambles to obey, even as her face contorts with pain. The way she barely manages to lift her right arm tells me that it's sprained or broken, but the giant doesn't look like he cares. He jerks his gun back and forth between us like he can't decide who to shoot first.

Amaryllis's mom's face pales and she stares at me with a mix of fear and regret. Her gaze darts to the row of cells, searching for her daughter, and then snap back to me. I know what she's looking for and I jerk my chin at the right cell. I can't see Amaryllis from here either, but her mom understands. Relief fills her face, but then something clangs loudly from the direction of Jess's cell.

"Who's there?" The giant swings his gun toward the sound, his hands shaking wildly.

I picture Jess trying to unlock the door, but I don't dare look. Not when it could give her away. Instead, I start to cough, masking the rather obvious jingling of keys that ensues.

"Stop that!" The giant shouts. "Get off him. Now!"

I've still got my knee on Robbie's back and when the giant waves his gun, I scramble to my feet. I expect Robbie to tackle me or strike me in retaliation, but he doesn't move. He just keeps lying face-down on the floor.

"What did you do to him?" the giant cries. "Why isn't he getting up? Is he dead? Did you kill him? You killed him, didn't you?"

"N-no." I stare down at Robbie in confusion. He looks fine. His chest continues to rise and fall, and his eyes are wide open. His gaze is glued to the gun, which is just out of his reach. Except he makes no move to grab it.

"Don't move," the giant shouts, also spotting the gun. "Don't move or I'll shoot."

I don't doubt that he'll do it, too. Beads of sweat pool on his forehead and his eyes look wild and crazy. He jerks the gun from me to Amaryllis's mom and back again, his weapon turning progressively shakier. He looks like he might have a breakdown at any minute, and his next words reflect that.

"I didn't sign up for this." He shakes his head wildly. "Robbie, get up, man. What are you doing? Get up!"

I sink in on myself giving him my best version of the Omega Act to calm him down. It should work, but he's too far gone. If anything, it makes things worse. Sweat rings start to form below his armpits and sweat starts to pour down his face. He wipes at his forehead with the back of his free hand and wipes it on the side of his shirt.

Then, he suddenly raises his other hand to the gun. He uncocks the safety and then, gripping it with two hands, he trains it on Amaryllis's mom.

Questions?

❀Comments?❀

What did you think of this chapter? 👍/👎?

❁Oh no! What's going to happen to Saf? 

❁ Do you think the giant will end up shooting someone? Why would he point his gun at Amaryllis's mom?

❁ Will Jess manage to get the cell door open and get out? 

❁ And where is Logan?!?! When will our knight in shining armor arrive? 

Would Your Rather by cherry_The_Rose❀ Suggest two supposedly good options -or- two supposedly bad options. Remember: answering "neither" or "both" is against the rules. (Example 1: would you rather 'freeze to death' or 'burn to death') 

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