WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter #1022, "The Stars Take the Stage," by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul and Vanessa Satone, available in English via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
The life of Captain Eustass Kid hangs in the balance in One Piece Chapter #1022, but not in the way you might think. While he and Law are facing Big Mom, there's a third party that is targeting him from a completely different location. Basil Hawkins, one of Kaido's Beast Pirates, is using his Devil Fruit powers to target the Captain of the Kid Pirates in his own fight against Killer, a member of Kid's crew.
Hawkin's abilities come from his consumption of the Wara-Wara no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. This fruit allows the consumer to control straw, which Hawkins uses to create things like armor and, more importantly, scarecrow-like dolls. Using these dolls, Hawkins can transfer any physical damage he might have taken during a fight onto another target. However, once a doll has been damaged, it can no longer be used.
This is how he is holding Kid's life hostage. By using the dolls to transfer any damage caused by Killer onto Kid, he is having a crew member kill their own captain. He takes great satisfaction in his plan, so much so that he explains that he was initially going to keep it a secret, but decided it would be more entertaining for Killer to know. Just before this, Killer had stabbed Hawkins, but a doll was used to absorb the damage.
Hawkins then brings up the question of whose lives will be affected by the dolls, and his plan is revealed to both Killer and the reader. Elsewhere, Kid notices that he's been stabbed, but doesn't know where the attack has come from. We now know that Hawkins is using the dolls to have Killer kill Kid in an attempt to save his life. He states that he only has a few dolls left, so by using them to target Kid, he's ensuring that he survives his encounter with Killer.
However, Killer doesn't waiver in his efforts, even commending Hawkins by saying, "I like your style." How Killer will go on with the fight has yet to be revealed in the One Piece manga, as the chapter then cuts away to the Performance Floor. Judging from his reaction, though, it doesn't seem that he'll falter in his fight and continue on.