“Krystal, put it down,” Dana whispers as the sirens grow louder.

Liam steps closer, keeping his eyes on them both. “This isn’t going to end well if you don’t cooperate.”

I back up slowly as Liam approaches, standing between Krystal and me. Tires crunch against the gravel road, and I know we’ll be surrounded by the police within minutes. “Fuck you both!” Krystal screams, then pulls the trigger.

The deafening sound of the shot rings out, and the scene plays in slow motion.

Dana screams as Liam goes down. I rush toward him as Krystal runs off. Cops swarm the area with their handguns pointed. So much happens at once.

“Dude, you okay?” I ask Liam as I scan over his body for the wound.

“Shit, I hate when that happens,” he mutters, then grins.

“What?” I ask in disbelief.

Liam lifts his shirt and reveals a bulletproof vest.

“You asshole, why didn’t you tell me?”

“After a couple of close calls, I learned to keep one nearby. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to put it on. Glad I was right.”

“Jesus Christ, I want to kick your ass.” I scrub a hand through my hair as sweat drips down my face.

Grabbing his hand, I help him to his feet. “I like to keep things interesting. Thankfully, she didn’t shoot you, though.”

“No shit!” I tell him, noticing Dana’s in handcuffs. A couple of officers have already captured Krystal, and they’re nearly dragging her to the car as she spits curse words left and right.

She glares at me as she passes. “This isn’t over, Boone!”

“You have the right to remain silent…so shut the fuck up,” one officer says, shaking his head.

“You can’t talk to me like that!” Krystal shouts in disbelief.

I can’t contain my laughter. This played out better than I imagined, and honestly, I’m shocked as hell, but happy this is finally over.

“I still have no clue how you pulled this off,” I tell Liam. “Never in a million years did I think this would work. I was holding out hope but preparing for the worst.”

“Nah, man. I’ve worked with these guys for years. It’s a I scratch their backs, and they scratch mine kind of situation. Call us co-dependent.”

“Yeah, you owe us one, Evans!” one of them shouts. “This was my goddamn day off!”

Liam chuckles in amusement. “Get over it, Huddy. Not like your stripper wife is waiting around for ya. She’s too busy entertaining the firemen.”

“That’s because she makes more money than him,” another guy chimes in, and a bunch of them laugh.

“Fuck you,” Huddy spits out, looking their way. “Let’s get these girls booked so I can go home, okay?”