No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

“But, see, I had a plan, too.” He kept approaching. “And,
it turns out, your plan was only a part of my plan.”
Sandi took another step back, paralyzed by his wide
shoulders, his sheer presence, and the fluorescent lights
flickered overhead.
Silence.
“You know …” Ashley shrugged. “I really thought you’d
try to run by now.”
She tried.
He was too quick.
He grabbed her elbow with that muscular grip Darby
knew all too well, and with an aikido spin, hurled Sandi into
the floor. A shoe flew off. Her other foot kicked the vending
machine as she went down, turning the glass opaque with
cracks. Ashley was already on top of her, forcing her to lie
face-down, his knee on her back.
Ed struggled forward, but Lars aimed his .45. “Ah, nope,
nope.”
Now Ashley grabbed the woman by the scalp, both fists
clenched in her black bowl-shaped haircut, and yanked her
head backward, against his braced knee. “You called … Sandi,
now, you may not remember this, but earlier tonight, you said
some very nasty things about Lars, about his condition.
Because of choices our mother made decades ago, when he
was just an embryo. How fair is that? Come on, Sandi. You
know I love my baby brother—”
She screamed against his thick grip.
“Take it back, Sandi.” He twisted her neck harder. “Take
back what you said.”
She cried out, all vowels.
“Try again. I can’t hear you—”
She gasped: “I … I take it back—”