“I wouldn’t trade myself to you for anyone,” Russ said. “Not even if it was Aneski you were threatening.”
“I would never,” Flix reminded.
“Yeah, that’s the only good thing about all of this. Your feelings for my brother mean you’re the one who has something to lose. Maybe I won’t get any coin out of this, but like hell amI leaving empty-handed. You always thought you were so much better than me, Flix. But you know what? If I can’t have them, neither can you. I’d rather they die than you be happy knowing you won.”
“What—” Flix swore when the sound of gunfire echoed through the area a second before he felt the sharp burn of a bullet tear through the side of his right thigh. He almost went down, but Ani grabbed onto him, dragging him toward the hood of the car. They both dropped behind it, taking cover, while the others ran off to do the same.
Madden ended up on Aneski’s other side, clutching his right arm. “Just grazed me,” he reassured, pulling his blaster up before shooting over the top of the vehicle in the direction the shots had come from. “Single shooter coming from the tree line.”
There was a dense forest on the right side of the road they were parked on, and though the situation was similar to the one Flix had just come from at Vail, he stupidly hadn’t considered sending anyone to check the surrounding area. As far as he’d been concerned, Bowser had been on his way to wherever Russ was located, which meant he hadn’t been here. He also hadn’t figured Russ would risk himself by singlehandedly trying to kill them.
“Should we get him?” Jett, one of the riders who’d come with Madden, settled in front of them and motioned around the car.
“Shit.” Flix had forgotten about Bowser. He planted a palm on the asphalt and leaned an inch or so forward so he could see, swearing again when he saw the man curled in on himself on the ground, shaking.
“He’s been hit,” Jett added. “I could get him.”
“Don’t risk yourself,” Madden replied before Flix could come to a decision. He sent another round of fire into the forest,bullets zipping through the air to slam into the thin trunks of the narrow birch trees. “Got eyes on the target?”
The second rider who’d come with him, Chaiya, was at the bottom of the car. “I see movement. Going in!” He sprinted toward the forest, firing as he went.
“Bad time to ask how you’ve been?” Jett tried to lighten the mood by asking Ani.
Flix’s eyes narrowed. “You two know each other?”
“I go to Guest,” Jett said.
“Of course you do.”
Both Madden and Chaiya went to the Academy, but Flix hadn’t known where Jett attended.
“Haven’t seen you on campus lately,” Jett continued.
“I’ve been tied up.” Ani smirked Flix’s way and then turned to glance through the car windows. “Seems like it’s calmed down over there. Should we go check it out?”
“Yeah,” Flix stood and offered him a hand. Then he pointed to Bowser and instructed Jett, “Check on him.”
They circled the car and headed up the slight incline leading into the forest, but they didn’t get far before a body burst through the trees, practically crashing into them.
Flix yanked Ani out of the way just in time but almost lost his footing in the process. Because of that, it took him longer than it should have to raise his gun and aim, though once he had, he hesitated.
It was obvious even from behind it was Russ running away.
Madden and Chaiya appeared a second later, weapons still drawn. When they saw Flix standing there, not doing anything, they both stopped next to him and Ani.
“How do you want us to proceed?” Chaiya asked first. “He’s getting away.”
“I shot him in the side,” Madden said. “But he was slippery.”
“If we don’t handle him today, he’ll come back and cause trouble again down the line,” Chaiya guessed. “He’s the type.”
“I know that,” Flix snapped, hand still holding his blaster aloft. Blood seeped down the wound in his leg and it hurt just to stand there. On top of that, Chaiya wasn’t wrong. Clearly Russ was just out to get them, but… “He’s Ani’s older brother.”
“Screw that.” Aneski snatched the gun from Flix’s hands and lowered the barrel, letting off a single shot that landed in the back of Russ’s thigh. It wasn’t a killing blow by any means, but he seemed wholly satisfied with himself when he handed the weapon back. “A thigh for a thigh, right?”
“Are you making jokes right now?” Madden nodded his head in approval. “Your Onus is a badass, Firebug.”
Russ fell to the ground on his hands and screamed but quickly forced himself back up. He turned and shot at them, seemingly realizing they weren’t just going to let him off the hook, and they all scattered to avoid getting hit.
