“Then… I just need a weapon.”
“Christian—”
I stuff the phone into my pocket for a moment. But not before I hear Reuben cursing viciously on the other end. Some are words I don’t even recognize from my flip through the Spanish dictionary.
The moment the last man rounds the bend behind his team, I’m clamping my hand around his mouth and dragging him back around the corner without a sound. In one swift movement I’ve snapped his neck and I pull him down to the ground gently, taking his pistol while fishing around for other weapons.
If there are four cars on the outside of the station then…
I can’t let them get that far.
If they do, Kai will disappear.
Just like Evie.
I draw in a deep breath, focusing my thoughts and trying to recall the heights of each man.
When I step around the bend, I aim for their heads. Luckily, they haven’t reached the top of the stairs yet. Three well-placed shots and they’re down before they know what hit them.
Kai’s eyes are wide as he recognizes me. The others whirl around but they’re too slow.
Two head shots later, and there are only two men left.
My heart races as they raise their weapons. I sharpen my senses. From this distance and from their aim, I can predict their shots if I focus everything I have. I’m pushing this body past its limits to throw myself out of the way. Just fast enough that their bullets graze my cheek and my leg.
Even with the sharp sting across my skin, I don’t have time to blink—I force my senses to stay activated and time is moving slowly again, thank goodness.
One of them is aiming for my arm. The other for my head.
I’ll have to sacrifice one.
Within the next second, I’m tilting my head to avoid the fatal shot—barely missing the bullet that tears through the space right by my eye.
Still, I can’t afford to blink. The other bullet burrows into my arm, but it’s too late.
They fall with my last two shots.
I collapse to one knee, releasing the breath I was holding and returning my senses to normal. My lungs areburning.There’s a pounding through my skull that wasn’t there a moment ago. I can’t push this body like that again. It pushes too many limits.
The bullet passed through my arm thankfully, but the pain is sharp. It forces me to grit my teeth together.
Kai kicks the dead body of the one who backhanded him before running down the stairs to throw his arms around me. Even with all his bravery, his tiny body is shaking.
When I bring the phone in my pocket to my ear again, the line is silent, but I know Reuben is still there.
“I’ve secured Kai.”
I can sense Reuben’s anger through his silence. A loud, cursing Reuben is an okay Reuben.
But everyone knows a silent Reuben is a Reuben you should never fuck with.
“Are either of you injured?” The ire and rage reverberating through those seemingly calm words are enough to make me wince.
“… No.” I lie, but my initial hesitation makes me wince again.
He knows very well it’s a lie.
“Just me,” I try to alleviate the situation by letting him know Kai is safe… but I didn’t think the other line could get even colder.
