I lead ma down the flight of stairs while she’s in an out of mind state.
And while I know it would be smarter to go through the back door I take us to the front. We’re running out of time.
A gunshot rings out. I snap my head back to see Sebastian hot on our tails.
I fire a shot back at him in which he returns. It whizzes right past my head.
“You fucking bitch!” He roars as he confuses to fire shots. I push ma through the front door and shut it as a bullet lodges itself in my upper arm.
Spinning on my heel I run in the opposite direction. Sebastian chases after me. When I hear him pull the trigger again it comes up empty.
As I round the corner of the kitchen I fire another shot his way. He successfully dodges it. I keep on running with my arm on fucking fire.
Then he spears into me from behind and takes me to the ground. The gun slips from my hand by the sudden impact. When I go to reach for it Sebastian swipes it away with his hand.
“Bastard!” I snap my hips forward and roll on top of him. Once I do I punch him in the nose. It immediately breaks.
Shoving me off him he comes to a stand and kicks me in my middle. Instinctively, I curl in a fetal position to protect myself.
He continues his assault of kicks but my forearms and shins take the brunt end of it.
I see the gun right behind him. If I can just get him off his feet.
As he raises his leg in the air for the next kick I strike my leg out and hit him directly in the shin. He rumbles to the floor, clutching his leg.
With all the strength I have and adrenaline pumping through me I crawl as fast as I can to get the gun.
His hand clamps on my ankle the second my fingers grasp the handle.
I kick at his hand repeatedly with my other foot. When he howls in pain and lets go I get a firmer grip on the gun.
Wasting no time I point it at him and shoot him in the head.
Bloody sprays my face. Body matter clings to my hair. Bile presses at the back of my throat but I swallow it down.
My body vibrates as I sit in the aftermath of what I’ve done. My tongue grows thick in my mouth as my heart rate speeds up. Suddenly I can’t seem to catch my breath. I clutch at my chest willing my lungs to allow me to just fucking breathe.
Heavy footsteps come running down the corridor. On autopilot I raise my gun ready to kill whoever it is.
The footsteps come to a halt. I’m about to shoot when I hear the Russian accent, “Easy there, princess. It’s just me.” He stashes away his gun and raises both of his hands.
I nod my head but my eyes are unfocused. Fuck, I can’t stop shaking. Why can’t I stop shaking?
“I can’t breathe,” I rasp.
Kirill kneels down before me and firmly pinches my chin between his fingers. Then he does something unexpected. Heslaps me on the face. Not enough to hurt but enough to sting and force me to snap out of it.
“You slapped me,” I say.
“And now you can breathe,” he says, quite impressed with himself.
“I don’t know if I can move,” I admit weakly.
His eyes inspect me then. They notice the bullet wound in my arm and how my back is hunched over to ease the pain of my stomach and ribs.
Much gentler than how he handled Rico he lifts me up and props me against his side.
“You did good, princess,” he says warmly. “How about I get you out of here? Hmm?”
