Liam’s voice was steady and ice-cold as he spoke, his words slicing through the air like a blade. "Let her walk away now, and I might consider giving you two a quick death."
Dean and Rick exchanged glances. Rick gulped, his hands tightening around his gun, his stance shifting uneasily. Dean, however, burst out laughing, the sound echoing in the quiet scrapyard. "The fuck are you on about, huh? You got a death wish or something?" He pointed his gun at Liam. "You’re surrounded, dumbass. We got a sniper with eyes on you right now, ready to pop your fucking head off."
Liam smirked and casually turned his head toward the sniper’s location. With a slow, almost mocking wave, he grinned directly at her. The sniper, a woman with a piercing on her nose and a constant smirk as she chewed gum, stiffened slightly. She hadn’t expected him to pinpoint her position so easily. Her grip on her rifle tightened, but she didn’t move.
Liam’s grin widened. "What’s wrong, Dean? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
Dean’s jaw clenched. "How the fuck did you—"
"Know where she was?" Liam interrupted. "Come on, man. You seriously think I wouldn’t notice the exact position of the person trying to blow my brains out?" His voice was dripping with amusement, but his eyes remained as sharp as daggers.
Dean quickly composed himself, scoffing. "So what? You found her. And what now? Gonna throw a rock at her? You’re outnumbered, dumbass. And Vanessa? Yeah, she’s fucking dead. Our sniper made sure of it."
Liam’s smirk never wavered. He had expected them to believe Vanessa was dead. After all, the sniper had fired at her. What they didn’t know was that Liam had dragged her away just in time. The bullet had missed by an inch. These guys had no idea she was still breathing, and Liam intended to use that ignorance to his advantage.
Dean sighed dramatically. "Man, what a waste. That woman had a body to die for. Pretty face, too. Girls like that don’t show up around here too often, you know? It’s a damn shame she had to go out like that." He shook his head in fake regret. "But hey, at least I still got Ann."
Liam’s jaw clenched slightly at that, but his expression remained indifferent. Instead, he took a deep breath and let out a slow exhale. Then, he did something that sent a wave of unease through the group.
He started counting down.
"Ten."
Rick’s hand twitched around his gun, his nerves already frayed.
"Nine."
Dean narrowed his eyes. "The fuck are you doing?"
"Eight."
The sniper adjusted her aim, ready to shoot if necessary.
"Seven."
Ann, who had been silent all this time, felt her pulse quicken. She recognized that tone in Liam’s voice. It was the same tone he had used before he had killed three men in his house. Cold. Unshakable. Deadly.
"Six."
Rick licked his lips, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
"Five."
Dean took a step forward, pressing the barrel of his gun harder against Ann’s temple. "You really wanna test me right now, motherfucker?"
"Four."
The sniper’s finger hovered over the trigger. Her instincts told her something was very, very wrong.
"Three."
Rick took a small step back, his breathing uneven. "Dean, man... I don’t like this..."
"Two."
Ann squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for whatever was about to happen.
"One."
Then, without warning, a single gunshot rang out, loud and piercing, shaking everyone to their core.
And just like that, the scrapyard fell into absolute silence.
The moment the gunshot rang out, Liam moved without hesitation. His instincts were razor-sharp, his body reacting before his mind even registered what was happening. In a flash, he reached behind his back, where a hidden M4 had been tucked into his belt. It was a weapon he had taken from one of the men he had eliminated earlier, and its presence had gone unnoticed by Dean and Rick, who assumed he was now unarmed.
With ruthless precision, Liam grabbed the nearest man by the collar and yanked him forward, using him as a human shield. Then, without a second of hesitation, he pulled the trigger. A rapid burst of bullets tore through the man’s chest, the impact sending shudders through Liam’s arms. Blood splattered in every direction, and the body jerked violently before going limp in his grip.
The moment the first shots were fired, the rest of the men opened fire on Liam, their guns blazing as they sent a hailstorm of bullets in his direction. Liam barely had a second to react, quickly hiding behind the now-lifeless body. The relentless gunfire pounded against the corpse, turning it into a pulpy mess, but Liam knew he couldn’t stay there for long. The second he felt the weight of the body weakening against the onslaught, he tossed it aside and charged forward.
There were four men left, their expressions shifting from confidence to panic as Liam stormed toward them with deadly intent. He raised his M4, but before he could fire, another shot rang out from the distance—a piercing sniper round. One of the men’s heads snapped back violently as the bullet tore through his skull, sending him crumpling to the ground like a ragdoll.
The remaining three froze in shock. They turned toward the sniper’s position, momentarily confused. Was their own sniper betraying them? Before they could make sense of it, Liam capitalized on their hesitation.
He reached the nearest man in a blink, slamming a brutal kick into his wrist. The gun was knocked clean from his grip, skidding across the ground. Liam wasted no time—he shoved the barrel of his M4 into the man’s open mouth and pulled the trigger. The blast turned his head into a gruesome explosion of bone, brain, and blood, sending shivers down the spines of the last one standing.
Another thunderous sniper shot rang out. The last man collapsed, his body twitching as a clean hole was blown straight through his forehead.
Now, only Dean and Rick remained.
Liam exhaled, his gaze snapping toward the two men who had orchestrated this entire ambush. He raised his gun, but before he could fire, a sudden sharp pain tore through his shoulder. The force of the impact sent him stumbling back, groaning in pain. He barely managed to roll behind a rusted car for cover, clutching at the fresh wound. Blood trickled down his arm, staining his shirt a deep crimson.
"Got him!" Rick shouted triumphantly, his gun still aimed in Liam’s direction. Dean smirked, raising his weapon as well.
Vanessa, who had been lying low after emptying her sniper rounds, immediately reacted. Her eyes widened as she saw Liam drop out of sight. Without wasting a second, she sprang to her feet, dashing toward his position as quietly as she could. She knew he was injured, and there was no way she was letting him face those two alone.
Meanwhile, Rick and Dean exchanged a glance before turning their focus back to Ann, who was still bound and held at gunpoint. Dean sneered, stepping closer to her with a wicked grin.
"Alright, no more games," he said, pressing the barrel of his gun to the side of Ann’s head. "Liam! Vanessa! You two better come out now... or I swear, I’ll blow this bitch’s brains out right fucking now."
The threat hung heavy in the air, thick with tension. The battlefield fell silent, save for the faint sound of the wind rustling through the wrecked cars around them. Liam, gritting his teeth through the pain, clenched his fists. His vision blurred slightly from the blood loss, but his mind remained razor-sharp.
Dean and Rick had just made a fatal mistake.