Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
I finished my drink before heading outside.
I must’ve been nursing my last drink for longer than I thought because I wasn’t feeling particularly tipsy, which was kind of a bummer. But I still felt pretty damn good as I started down the street, heading to Voltage.
As I started across the street, I heard, “Gimme your fucking wallet, dude.”
Shit.
I peered into the alley beside me, and I noticed a guy in a hoodie with a gun held up to another guy.
Not just any guy.
It was Ethan.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I recalled Lee’s attempt at making sure I’d stay safe. I wasn’t normally stupid about shit, but I went against my better judgement and headed down the alley toward them.
Some part of me knew it was a crap idea. I should have just let whoever the fuck that was take Ethan’s wallet and then dash off into the night, but by the way the armed robber bounced around, shouting while Ethan just stood there, it was clear he was trying to put on a big show to scare Ethan. And with a gun involved, he wasn’t playing fair. The sight evoked memories of my brother and all the tears I shared with my parents because of the bastard responsible for his death. And the pain it stirred within me caused me to set aside logic and reason in exchange for proving something to myself.
“I told you to give me your wallet,” the robber demanded.
“Hey, Ethan!” I called out. “Ethan!”
The thief turned and said, “What the fuck?” and I was sure Ethan was thinking the same goddamn thing.
I stumbled and put on a bit of an act, tripping on my legs and moving side to side.
The thief turned so he could face both of us but kept the gun on Ethan. “Dude, you need to give me your fucking wallet too!”
I stopped and put my hands on my thighs, looking at the gun and then at the guy in the hoodie.
“Oh, shit!” I said. “What the fuck?”
“You heard me, drunk-ass! Give me your damn money!”
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. I fished through it before pulling out some cards and throwing them onto the asphalt.
“What the fuck are you doing?” the guy asked.
“I’m getting my money for you,” I said as I pulled some cash out of the billfold and dropped a few for good measure.
“You dumbass. Just give it to me.”
He rushed over and put his gun right to my head. As he reached for my wallet, I thanked God for my black belt as I snatched his wrist and gun simultaneously, pushing the barrel of the gun away from my head before prying the gun from his grasp and seizing control of it.
With my free hand, I slammed it against his chest, throwing him onto his back.
The kid’s hoodie pulled back, revealing a young, twenty-something-year-old. With fire-red hair and wide eyes, it was clear he was a lot more horrified than either Ethan or I were when he’d had the gun on us. He scrambled onto his knees and crawled away, then made into a sprint.
“Yeah, fucker, you need to be more careful with these things!” I removed the bullets from the gun before taking a deep breath, my hands trembling at my side, not from fear, but excitement—the rush of having a fucking gun to my head and disarming that kid.
“Little piece of shit,” Ethan said. I turned to him. His eyes narrowed and he looked stunned—like someone who’d just had a car accident—but still really fucking put together for someone who, moments earlier, had been held up at gunpoint.
“Straighty, you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Fine.” He took a breath before saying, “What the fuck kind of ninja shit was that?”
I picked up the cards and bills I’d dropped onto the asphalt and put them back into my wallet.
“Oh, it’s just…something I learned when I was younger. Little queer kid’s gotta know how to defend himself. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not exactly the most macho thing in the world. I gotta leave that to guys like you.”
I checked Ethan’s expression, hoping to make him crack a smile, but it didn’t work.
He still looked so serious—like he was stuck back in that moment with the gun on him. And he looked pale as fuck.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I was heading down the street, looking at my phone, and that kid came at me and shoved me into the alley. I was ready to deck him when he pulled the gun out. Shocked the shit out of me.”
“Jesus Christ, that must have been scary. I can tell it shook you up a bit.”
“I’m fine. It just happened really fast.” His eyes shifted about uneasily. “I think I just need to sit down.”
He walked over to the side of the building and sat down next to it.