Holiday Wedding (Holiday Romance-Spicy Version #2)

35

Tuesday, December 24

Wedding Day

Gwen

The open slots on the side of my metal cage are large enough for me to see everything.

With my heart in my throat, I watch Jenny rescue a fear-stricken Dean.

I see the police almost get shot.

The scariest thing I witness is Caleb making his way toward Justin and Lola. Crouching low, hidden by containers like the one I’m trapped in, Caleb slowly moves to the back of the room. He approaches from the left.

A minute later, Jenny goes the same direction, but she comes from the right.

I want to shout at them. To tell them to stop. To say I love them, and I can’t stand to lose anyone else close to me. But I don’t yell. I won’t risk revealing their locations. If Justin sees them, he’ll shoot them. Earlier, when he fired at those police, it wasn’t in warning. He was trying to kill them.

I rise on my toes and press my eye to the opening. The cool metal indents my cheek, but I barely notice. Caleb’s seen Jenny now. They have a wordless exchange, trading nods and hand gestures, right behind Justin’s and Lola’s backs.

“Gwen,” whispers a deep voice from outside of where I’m trapped.

“Dean? Is that you?”

“Hold on. I’ll get you out.” His words fade as he moves away. I want to cry for him to stay, to not leave me. I’m so frightened. I’m shaking. My hands tremble like fall leaves when the wind sweeps in.

I move along the edge of the container, peering through the open slots until I find him. Dean’s rummaging through a set of tools. He makes a triumphant sound as he pulls a crowbar out of the pile.

We’re lucky. The locked door of my prison is on the opposite side of Lola and Justin. They can’t see Dean apply the crowbar to the lock and try to pry it off, his muscles bulging.

Shouts from the other side send me running away from Dean and his work. I return to the spot where I can best watch what’s happening with Caleb and Jenny.

Caleb must’ve told the police to distract Justin, because the blue uniformed men poke their heads out from their hiding place. They shout threats, and Justin screams back at them, spittle flying from his lips. He’s so focused on them that he doesn’t notice Lola shuffling backward, away from him. I narrow my eyes when I see what she’s up to.

The coward.

She’s going to abandon her secret boyfriend.

Once she’s gained some freedom, Lola turns and runs smack dab into Jenny, who’s moved to intercept her. Jenny grabs Lola’s arms, pinning them to her sides. The two women struggle, wrestling with each other. Lola has at least a foot of height on Jenny, but Jenny works out every day. All those hours spent hauling tire tractors in boot camp and lifting weights in aqua aerobics pay off. Jenny spins Lola around and slams her against the nearest container. Lola’s head hits the metal wall with a loud thunk. Her eyelids sag like she might pass out.

The sound of the women’s struggle draws Justin’s attention. He turns his back on the cops and faces Lola. Caleb jumps behind a nearby box to hide.

“Lola?” Justin calls out, confusion making his voice rise higher at the end of the sentence.

“Help me!” exclaims Lola as she fights to peel Jenny’s hands off her arms.

Justin raises his gun just as Jenny turns around. Now Lola is in front of Jenny, acting as a human shield.

“She was running away!” Jenny cries out to Justin. “Lola was going to leave you.”

Justin gasps, the gun in his hand wavering. He points it at Lola, who places her hand over her heart and says, “Don’t listen to her. She’s a liar.”

“It’s true,” Jenny shouts. “She’s been using you.”

Justin trembles with rage. “Shut up!” he screams at Jenny, his face turning red.

Lola squirms in Jenny’s arms, then brings her high heel down on the instep of Jenny’s sneaker-clad foot.

“Ow!” Jenny exclaims, hopping on her uninjured foot.

Lola takes advantage of Jenny’s imbalance and shoves her hard. Jenny’s hands slip. Lola twists and breaks free, exposing Jenny to Justin, who lifts his gun.

“No!” I scream without thinking.

Justin cocks the gun and aims as I watch helplessly, my heart in my throat. Jenny looks around desperately, searching for a place to hide, but her fight with Lola has her trapped between the back wall of the room and a large metal container. There’s nowhere for her to go.

She’s going to die.

Caleb comes out swinging. He emerges from where he’s been inching closer and closer to Justin. He raises his arms with his hands tucked into tight fists. Once, years ago, my ex-boyfriend grabbed me in a parking lot. Caleb saved me back then. He told my ex-boyfriend that Olympic boxers had trained him for one of his movie roles. He’d said, “I don’t think you want to see what my right hook can do.”

My ex had backed down and run away. As a result, I never got to see that punch, but I witness it now. Caleb brings his fist back like a cobra about to strike. So quick it’s hard to follow, his hand lashes out and pistons into the side of Justin’s head. Justin’s entire body rocks backward from the blow. Justin stumbles, and the gun goes off. A bullet flies out of its smoking muzzle straight at Jenny, but Caleb has thrown off the aim. With a pinging sound, the bullet punctures the container next to Jenny instead of hitting her. She throws her hand up to shield herself from the tiny fragments that ricochet from the punctured steel.

Behind me is the sound of banging and metal wrenching from where Dean works on the lock, but I can’t take my eyes off the scene in front of me.

Before Justin can aim again, Caleb is on him, raining blows to his head, chest, and belly. The gun clatters to the floor as Justin raises his hands to defend himself. Caleb kicks it away with his foot, sending it spinning toward Jenny, who bends down and scoops it up. Now that Justin’s unarmed, the police come rushing over.

Jenny raises the pistol. She points it at Justin and shouts, “Stop! Don’t make me shoot you.”

When Justin sees that Jenny has the gun trained on him, his shoulders slump in defeat. The cops are on him in a flash, pulling out their handcuffs. They read him his rights.

Justin’s not listening to them, though. His head swings wildly.

“Lola?” he calls out, panicked. “Lola?”

Jenny, Caleb, and the officers stop what they’re doing. They look around as well, but Lola’s not there.

The dim container suddenly floods with light. I cry out and throw my arm over my stunned eyes. I’m falling, crumpling to my knees, but strong arms are there to catch me.

“I’ve got you,” says Dean. “You’re safe.”