Page 102 of A Shot at Love
“Gemma, stay back,” Ky yelled.
The force of the command stopped her cold. “Ky—”
“Don’t get any closer to him, Miss Laine,” Tiege said. “Drop your weapon, Papps. Now.”
Ky’s face turned to a slab of stone. Even his eyes went dead. Gemma couldn’t see his chest rise and fall from breathing, and for a moment worried he wasn’t.
“Don’t make me shoot you, Papps,” Winters said. “I will if you give me a reason to. Believe me. You deserve it for the traitor you are.”
The words sliced through the air.
Slowly, so slowly Gemma wasn’t sure he was moving at first, Ky raised his hands and then bent to lower his gun to the ground.
“Kick it over to me,” Winter’s ordered.
“Why are you doing this, Jon?”
“Why?” Jon said. “You have the nerve to ask that?”
“We know it was you, Papps,” Tiege said, moving toward Gemma, his gun still aimed at Ky.
“Know it was me?” Ky asked, his hands bent and raised above his head, his eyes trained on Winters. “Know what was me?”
“You’re the one who’s been feeding Ritandi intel all these months,” Winters said, his mouth pulling back in disgust. “It was you, all along, damn it! You played us. All of us.”
“No!” Gemma shouted. “It’s not him.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Laine,” Tiege said, “but it is.” He grabbed her upper arm with his free hand. “Winters discovered phone messages between Papps and Ritandi going back several months now.”
“It’s a lie!” she shouted. “He’s lying.” She pointed at Winters.
“Miss Laine, please. Calm down. This isn’t helping. We have the proof we need that it’s been Pappandreos all along.”
“No, you’re wrong. Let me go!” She pulled as hard as she could, tugging the arm he held securely, then slapping at it with her free hand.
Tiege ignored her plea. “Winters? Do it.”
“Yes, Sir.” He holstered his gun and pulled a set of handcuffs from behind his back. He moved toward Ky and said in a voice that shot a dagger into her spine, “Down on your knees, Papps. Now.”
Ky stood his ground, his gaze never moving from his partner’s.
“Don’t give me any trouble with this. You’ve got five weapons pointed at you. They won’t hesitate to shoot a traitor. Understand?”
Ky knelt, his mouth twisting into a crooked like.
“Stop!” Gemma shouted at Winters. “Stop. You don’t know what you’re doing.” Gemma again tried to squirm out of Tiege’s hold, to run to Ky. He held on fast, crushing her arm in his big, beefy hand.
“Take him in, Winters. I need to get Miss Laine out of here.”
Tears sprang from Gemma’s eyes as she watched Ky being handcuffed by Winters then yanked to his feet by two of the men with him.
Again, she struggled against Tiege’s grip, trying to pull away.
“Ky!”
He turned his head to look straight in her eyes. She had never seen such a cold, dead expression on someone so alive. Her blood chilled to ice.
His mouth barely moved, but she understood what he silently told her.
Trust me.
The tears started to cascade down her cheeks as she continued to struggle against Tiege. Gemma was strong, but he proved stronger as he all but dragged her along with him, down the drive, to an awaiting vehicle.
“Come on. I need to get you out of here.”
“No. I don’t want to go. I want to stay with him. Please!”
He ignored her protests. “You can’t. He’s in custody now and will be charged as soon as Winters brings him in.”
“You’re wrong,” she told him several times as he pulled her along as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. “Ky isn’t responsible for any of this.”
“I’m afraid you’ve been tricked by him just as we all have.” He helped her into the front seat of a black Escalade, not letting go of her arm until she was situated and had her safety belt in place.
He closed the door and sprinted around to the driver’s side as if afraid she’d bolt the minute she got the chance.
