Until I no longer miss.
It is why the second man falls with a bullet in his throat. He clutches his neck as he staggers backwards on the stairs and I fly past him without sparing another glance—unsheathing the knife at my side. I empty another bullet into his head, putting him out of his misery while deflecting the third man's gun away from me with my knife.
His shots are too late. They go wide, tearing into the wall and I plant my foot into his chest, kicking him backwards powerfully. The moment he collides with the wall at his back I've shot him in the head but I don't stop moving. I grab him by the scruff of his shirt and throw him down the stairs.
He falls like a stone into the first man, the one I’d tripped, who is only now catching his bearings and who rocks back on his heels from the dead weight.
My last bullet puts him down, burrowing between his eyes and he sinks like a stone.
Now that I’ve successfully put them down, I realize they’re disguised, wearing the grey vests and long-sleeved white shirts of the crew staff.
It’ll be a pain to attempt to identify them from the real crew.
I turn my back to head up the stairs, following where they came from, but the moment I do I hear the sound of a gun click. My heart falls into my toes because I’m not quick enough; two shots chew into the wall beside me, and I whip around quickly.
But Reuben is there.
His arms are wrapped around the shooter’s neck, and the gun falls to the floor as the man struggles in Reuben’s hold.
Reuben doesn’t break my gaze. There’s a delight there that touches his lips, an expression I notice slips onto his face in times like these, whenever he’s fighting.
He snaps the man’s neck easily, his life stolen, and his empty body falls to the floor to join the others.
“Getting a little too close again,estrellito?” Reuben’s smile is easy even in this situation, and he looks completely at home, as though he's just stepped out of the kitchen in the Taiga mansion.
I ignore him, pursing my lips, “There's going to be more on the bridge.”
“And it seems they're hiding below as well.” His gaze flickers to the stairs below before coming up the stairs to me. “I'll take the bridge.”
“I’ll come with you.”
He reaches the top of the stairs. His frame isn’t any bigger than mine and he couldn’t be more than an inch taller than me, yet still the way he looks at me makes me feel small. There’s a chaotic fire in his eyes as he presses his palm against my chest, pushing me back to step further in and his smile widens into something… carnal.
“You worried for me,estrellito?” His voice is suddenly like warm chocolate in my ears, and a frown touches my lips. His messy updo has become even more unruly, with more strands escaping to fall at the sides of his face, yet I can’t deny how alluring it is.
“Aren’t we supposed to protect you?” I ignore his strange charm for now.
“Do I look like a man that needs protecting, Christian?”
It doesn’t sound like he’s berating me. Instead, there’s an amusement in his eyes that makes my glare sharpen.
Fair point.
I huff, brushing past him, “Fine.” I can feel his eyes on my back even as I walk back down the stairs, heading for the lowest levels. Still, I don’t spare him another glance.
“Don’t die, Taiga.”
“Wouldn’t think of it.”
I only find two other men as I scout through the lower levels, but it could only be about thirty minutes when Gabriel finally speaks through the comms.
“All lower decks, right side clear. Five men.”
“Left side clear. Six men,” I report.
“Does that count the one that nearly got you?” The smirk in Reuben’s voice is an irritating thing that makes my nose flare.
“It does.” I hate that I can see his grin in my mind’s eye.
