“What are we going to do with them?” he asked, both of them looking our way.
The only thing I could think to do was angle my body in front of hers.
Mikhail’s eyes narrowed on me.
I could tell that he was torn between killing me and taking me. I figured that deep down, he’d want to use my special skillsfor his own personal gain in the future, but there wasn’t much time to wrestle me into the car. He knew I wouldn’t go willingly.
“Fuck it. Shoot ‘em. We gotta get out of here.” He turned and headed toward the side exit, retreating in a hurry to try and get away before the police arrived.
I turned my attention to my left, where the guy who did the dirty work was working to pull his gun from the waistband of his pants. Before he could pull out the gun, I jumped forward and tackled him. Both of us went flying back to the floor. He lost his grip on the gun, and it went sliding across the dirt-covered floor.
Luckily, I was on top, so he couldn’t easily reach for it. I pulled my fist back and sent it flying toward his jaw. He was a big man, though, and my fist did nothing but piss him off. He brought his hands together, laced his fingers, and then sent both fists into my stomach. I instantly doubled over, making it easy for him to throw me to the side.
I groaned as I rolled from my back to my stomach. My eyes were clenched shut in pain, but I forced them open to see the large man getting to his feet. Lying on the floor made him appear even bigger than he was. I expected him to race toward the gun. I was shocked when he stood and froze. It was like time stood still as I watched him slowly move his hands to the air.
I pushed myself to sit up, and in doing so, I could see around him. Amelia had the gun, and she was aiming it at his head. I turned and looked for Mikhail.
The side door slammed.
He was nowhere in sight. He had made it outside the building, and he didn’t give a shit about anyone inside. He just wanted to get away, thinking that his dirty work was getting taken care of.
“You’d better put it down,” the big guy said, glaring at Crash.
She tightened her hand on the gun, but didn’t make any attempt to lower it. “Not going to happen. This ends now.”
“Then shoot me, because I’m not going back to prison.”
I could tell that she wasn’t prepared to shoot him. She wanted to hold him for the police, but I knew that he wasn’t the type to go down without a fight. The police sirens grew louder, and I heard their cars screech to a sudden stop just outside the building with the missing wall.
“Police! Lower your weapon!”
Amelia nearly jumped out of her skin when several police officers moved into the building, all with their guns drawn. She rushed to put the gun on the floor.
“Now step away,” one officer yelled.
I stood and reached for her. She reached for me as she took a couple of steps closer. When our hands touched, I pulled her against me, hugging her tightly as I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling her sweet scent.
One of the officers bent down to pick up the gun she set down, and that’s when everything started moving in slow motion. The big guy who had been standing with his hands in the air dropped them to his side before bending down. My attention jumped over to him in time to see him lift his pant leg and pull the gun he had strapped to his ankle.
It was like everyone noticed at once. Several of the officers pulled their own weapons. I could see their lips move as they yelled at him to lower his weapon, but I couldn’t hear anything other than my own racing heart.
Things went from slow motion to fast forward. He went from bending over to standing upright and spinning around to face me in one swift motion.
Suddenly, I was looking down the barrel of the gun. I didn’t have time to think or process. All I knew was that I had to do something or he’d end up shooting Crash in the back.
On impulse, I spun around. The sound of the gun firing cut through the sound of my own heart. Then I felt the heat as it sliced through me. I knew I’d been hit, but she was okay.
There wasn’t just one gunshot. There were many, and they came from all different directions. The police, who had drawn their weapons, all fired the second he shot me. My knees gave out, and even though I released Crash, she held tight, falling to the dusty floor with me.
She held my head in her lap as she looked down at me with tears in her eyes.
Everything hurt. I felt like I was on fire. So this was what getting shot felt like.
I wasn’t a fan.
“Hang on, Ollie. Don’t you leave me.” She wept, clinging to me.
I felt dizzy. My heart was racing, and my breathing was labored, but it felt like I couldn’t get in enough air. My lungs felt heavy, like I didn’t have the strength to breathe. Then I felt cold and tired.
