Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee
Chapter 23
Rafa was replacing his card in his wallet as Lexi put her fingers on the glass door leading out. Seeing three vehicles parked next to the Escalade he had driven, Rafa squinted to get a better look. He knew by the sunglasses looking through the windshield that they were not here to shop. They were not Jim and Ray either.
“Don’t open that.” Rafa shoved Lexi backwards, making her stumble on her new-heeled shoes. Lexi heard the urgency in his tone. The way he pushed her away from the door meant danger. Rafa looked down at Maura and back at her.
“There's an employee break room in the back. I want you both to go in there. You two,”—he looked at the clerks—”show her to the employee break room. All of you stay there until I come for you.”
The clerks looked at him afraid and did not move until he brought his hand in front of their face and snapped his fingers. “The employee break room.” He pointed to the back.
Lexi gently pushed Maura to the clerks, not wanting to startle her any more than Rafa's stern voice already had. “Go with them, sweetie. I'll be right there. I promise.” Then she looked at Rafa. “Give me a gun. Give me a gun so I can protect her.”
Rafa’s eyes lowered, frustrated that Lexi was not on her way with the clerks. He shook his head, gripping her arm and speaking with low, steady words. “Alexis, get Maura the hell out of here. Don’t make me tell you again.”
She did not want to argue, not with the desperate look in his eyes, but she was determined that he would not leave her without a gun. “All right, but give me a gun in case. Don't leave me without protection for her, Rafa.” The employees had already run halfway there when several men stepped out of the vehicles, causing him to sort with his keys and lock the entrance. As he was walking away from the glass door, he lifted the leg of his pants and yanked out a gun, clicking on the safety.
“Can you shoot?”
“I promise I won't miss if they get through.”
He nodded; a dark, clouded haze spread over his face. “Here. It’s on safety. Now go!” Lexi listened and rushed toward the others as fast as she could when Rafa pulled out his phone.
“Jim and Ray never made it. I need backup at my store five minutes ago. I have Lexi, Maura, and two employees. I’m looking at two black Accords and a gray Explorer. I don't know if there’s more around the parking lot.”
Rafa heard a muffled breath. Angelo was trying to control his voice before he responded. He must have been facing trouble on his end too. “I'll have somebody there in five,” said Angelo.
Rafa clicked off the phone and glanced back to make sure all were safe in the break room. He did not want to give Lexi a gun around Maura. He did not like it, but Lexi was right. He could not leave her without any form of defense, not in the current situation and not with a child. He had to trust that she could handle one even though he had never seen her shoot.
As he thought about their safety, he saw two men come closer to the building. If they carried explosives, the Plexiglas around the place would be worthless.
The men did not bring gunpowder. As one of the Accords backed up and looked as though it would leave, Rafa jumped from in front of the door as the car drove straight through. Clothes and racks flew. Metal crashed and reverberated throughout the entire building, leaving the store in shambles of debris.
Except a couple of hangers that rattled together, everything went silent again. Rafa pulled out his gun and slowly approached the car. He stepped with silent caution, maneuvering around remnants of glass and jagged steel. When he reached the driver's side door, it lay open and vacant. Rafa pointed the gun at every faint sound.
The bald man who drove rose out of the passenger side and held a gun in his hand. He aimed it above the roof of the car, pointing it directly at Rafa and waving in help. Rafa heard footsteps and fired. He managed to strike two, but the others ducked, hiding within the store's littered goods.
Not knowing where they hid, Rafa walked to the back of the car and then the front when a man with short spiked hair and another with straight hair pointed their pistols as he turned his back. The driver stepped beside them and cast silent orders to the remaining men. Rafa wondered who they worked for as he stood at a disadvantage with two loaded guns pointed at his head. The situation seemed grim. How was he supposed to keep them from finding Lexi? Rafa did what he did best. He searched for a solution as he shifted their focus to him.
“Who sent you?” he asked, scowling but calm. He could not let them see the worry he felt.
“I'm sure you know,” the bald man said. Two men walked down a hallway; another two walked toward the break room in back. “We will leave as soon as we find them.”
Rafa wondered if they had been waiting all night to follow them this morning. He could not let them find Lexi. He had to think quickly and sorted through his thoughts, considering whatever he needed to say to redirect their attention from their task.
“It’s pointless to threaten me when my boss is on his way? Even if you kill me, you won’t make it out of here. It makes more sense to leave before he gets here.”
“It would make more sense to you, but we’re not leaving without our VIP.”
Rafa watched the two men creep around the corner and disappear toward the employee lounge on the end. Desperate to save the women, he shot the spike-haired man in front of him, but the bald man retaliated. He fired a bullet that lodged in Rafa's chest, making Rafa’s gun clank against the cold-tiled floor as he lost his grip. Rafa managed to stand his ground, shaking his head as he caught his breath.
“You’re dead sons of bitches when this is over.”
“Empty threats.” The bald guy remained unmoved. “I told you we weren’t leaving until we had what we came for.”
Damn it, Angelo. Where are you? Rafa dropped to the ground, kicking the second man's legs from underneath, causing his head to smash into a stone column behind. Rafa darted for his gun two feet away when the driver fired again, hitting Rafa between the ribs. Rafa fell backwards against the destroyed car and slumped to the floor when the driver pointed his gun, keeping him from attempting another move.
“I will kill you next time.” He lowered his gun to Rafa's head. With the large amount of blood that seeped through his coat, Rafa was losing energy fast.
“Go ahead,” Rafa dared, disregarding the warning as he applied pressure to his wounds. Now Rafa hoped that Lexi would actually pull the trigger on the gun he gave her. He was afraid to think that he almost did not give her one at all.
Within seconds of waiting, Rafa saw her—Lexi—stepping barefoot around the turn and peeking at the rubble in the damaged department store. She did not see him right away and stopped to gather her bearings, deciphering exactly what had happened.
Lexi heard the thundering crash, but she never expected to find the place in such disarray. The Accord in the middle of the store made it obvious about what had happened in the few minutes that she was in the back. She held out the pistol and spotted the backs of two men pointing their guns at Rafa. Lexi inhaled a deep breath, trying to control her nerves. Rafa was sitting against the crashed car, blood soaking through the white shirt behind his coat. She was relieved to see his eyes opened, but it would not be long until he passed out.
Lexi wanted to pull the trigger right then, but she hesitated at not knowing how many more obscured themselves in the scattered racks. She would not let them get to Maura though and continued to slither to the edge of the hallway, hoping Rafa could somehow tell her that she was cleared.
Rafa did not stare one way or the other. He must have been trying not to bring her unnecessary attention. Lexi lowered herself to the floor, almost crawling until she safely hid below the clothing. She made no sound at all and climbed over the bottom of several metal racks, finally making it to the one directly behind the men.
Where is she? Rafa thought. Lexi had disappeared. He could not see or hear her. The way she silently maneuvered her body against the floor terrified him. These men wanted her. One noise and it would all be over.
Lexi knew complete silence was crucial as she parted the clothing with her hand, shifting the articles sideways to see exactly where the men stood. When she saw they still looked away, Lexi lifted her head above the racks and raised her hand with the gun. A faint sound blasted as she pulled the trigger and then again, causing both men to fall down dead; then she went to Rafa, waving her hand for him to follow her back to the hallway.
Rafa shook his head and held up two fingers, pointing to the opposite side of the room. Lexi’s expression grew annoyed. Rafa would not go with her to safety. She gave him an urgent look but he refused to budge. He ignored her and picked up his gun from the floor while holding his coat against his chest with his other hand. Then he pointed his finger at her, telling her to return to the hallway herself. Was he out of his mind? Lexi was not leaving him alone.
They had no more seconds to argue silently about the issue. After hearing the loud thuds hit the floor, the other two men came walking back, stepping heavily and kicking clothes and hangers out of the way.
Rafa ducked, expecting Lexi still to stand next to him, but she crawled away, around where the entrance used to stand and slid out of sight. He fumed that he lost sight of her again and huffed at the floor, cursing Angelo for being so late. He was about to follow her, but something shattered against the back wall, echoing throughout the store. It distracted the men. They did not take a step further and fired at the noise.
Rafa half-stood to inspect whether or not it was Lexi; instead, he saw the shards of an expensive ceramic vase scattered across the floor. Smart woman. He thought. He did not hesitate to shoot both of the unsuspecting men who now faced away.
He finally let out a deep breath as Lexi rushed back over to him, panting heavily in a whisper, “You're hurt!”
She compressed his coat against the bleeding gunshot wounds as he placed his palm gently around her neck, stroking through her hair. “Will you get my phone for me?” He was about to press it on when several vehicles came to a screeching halt outside.