“Grab her!” Andretti shouts.
Frankie reaches up from his position and punches one of the bodyguards in the groin. A second man goes down from a swift kick to the knee. Now there are two people on the ground, and three men standing above. Frankie flails, trying to do as much damage as he can from his powerless position.
The size of the apartment is working in our favor. There’s too much chaos for the bad guys to get their bearings. The muscle that Andretti hired is whipping around on the floor, one attempting to grab his injured knee while the other holds his crotch. Their struggles only serve to unbalance the rest of the men, and soon, they’re all leaping to get out of the way.
I grab the orange juice from Harlan’s hand, tossing it over my shoulder where it lands squarely in the middle of the fight. Andretti cries out, surprised by the sweet, cold juice. He doesn’t know what it is at first, and by the time he figures it out, Frankie has latched onto his ankle.
Harlan steps back, trying to point his weapon at me. But with the action going on in the living room, he can’t make enough space. His back hits the refrigerator and he whips his head around to make sure it’s not another person. I take advantage of the situation, putting both hands around his gun.
Now I must hold on for dear life. He fires the weapon and I can feel it jump. But I’ve already managed to press my hip to his, meaning that I’m out of range when the bullet is fired. It digs a hole in the cabinet beneath the sink, causing water to spray all over us. That only creates more chaos which works in my favor.
I lean over and bite him in the neck like a vampire. He releases the gun so he can put both hands on my shoulders. Shoving me backward, he frees himself only to run right into the table. Harlan cries out in pain, dropping to one knee.
“Stop!” I yell, waving the gun at all of them.
Andretti pulls his own revolver, and we’re caught in a standoff. Water shoots out of the pipe, hitting me in the face and soaking through my shirt. I can’t see Frankie to figure out if he’s okay. There are two men on the floor, but I can’t tell if the third is there too.
People are shouting and waving their hands. I take advantage of the situation by easing my way toward Frankie. If I can just help him get back on his feet, maybe we’ll have a fighting chance.
As I hold my hand out, I try to keep Andretti in my sights. He’s the first person I have to subdue, but also the one who is the most protected. He’s focused entirely on me since I’m the one with the gun. But as I narrow my sights on the weapon and my enemy, Harlan comes at me from behind.
I should have paid more attention, since I did little to put him out of commission. He has blood trickling down his collar, but other than that, he’s fine. He wraps his arms around me, drawing the gun down with them. I’m pointing the weapon at the floor and I can’t get away.
“Stop!” Andretti yells.
The water is still spewing out of the sink, creating a racket, and drowning us all in fat droplets. Frankie manages to climb up to his knees. The men surrounding him have backed off just a little, until they can get a better sense of what’s going on.
The guy still on the floor rolls over and moans. He puts his hands around his knee like he knows it’s messed up. Frankie is halfway to his feet, but Andretti won’t let him get that far. As I’m struggling with Harlan, Andretti turns his weapon on Frankie.
We’re about to be killed, both of us. I can see my life flashing before my eyes. I remember the last conversation I had with my parents when I begged them to run for their lives, and they refused. I can only hope that the blood shed today will assuage Andretti and that he won’t go after my family. But that kind of thinking won’t get me anywhere. I need to focus on what’s happening now or I might wind up dead on my kitchen floor.
I don’t have a lot of leverage, but I know my kitchen well. In addition to the refrigerator and the sink, there is also a metal trash can against the wall. I lean back, using all my weight to throw Harlan off balance. I time it perfectly, and his knees hit the trash can a moment later.
He releases me when he loses his balance, toppling over onto the floor. I rush out to the living room to get away from him, but there’s not a lot of space for me to move. Andretti spies me and brings his weapon back up.
Frankie hauls himself to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. We’re back together again, but with the water shooting out at me, everything is happening in slow motion.
Andretti raises his gun at me but thinks better of it. Frankie has almost positioned himself between us again, but I’m the one who’s armed.
The guy on the floor scoots away and climbs up with the help of the coffee table. The two other goons step back, waiting to see how it will all play out.
“Drop the weapon,” Andretti growls.
“You first,” I snap.
Andretti points the barrel at Frankie’s head. We’re standing so close, it would be point-blank. I have a terrible feeling that he’s going to fire. He doesn’t believe I have the guts to do it, even though the odds are clearly matched. Behind me, I can hear Harlan cursing. I’m just seconds away from being attacked from behind again.
Andretti glances over at Harlan. They share some kind of secret message between them, and I’m all but certain I know what it is. I can’t cover two angles at once. If I keep my eye on Andretti, I lose sight of Harlan. Time is running out.
Andretti narrows his gaze. I must make a split-second decision. I’m sure he’s about to fire his gun and blow Frankie’s head to smithereens. Then Harlan will come up behind me and wrestle me to the ground, where I’ll be forced to wallow in Frankie’s blood until my time is finally up.
It only takes me a second to make my decision. My heart stops as I pull the trigger. I’ve never done something so violent in entire my life. The sound of the explosion rocks my world, not just because it’s so close, but because it signals the end of my innocence. I want to hit him. I want to kill him and that’s something that will haunt me for a long time.
I try to remind myself that this is the man who killed my brother. No wait, that’s the man behind me. But the person I’ve just fired upon ruined my life, and they hurt Frankie and his family. He’s no innocent wallflower and it’s come down to him or me.
The moment the gun goes off, I feel a pain course through my whole arm. Not only have I never once tried to kill anyone, butthis is the first time I’ve fired a gun. I’m not prepared for the recoil, and I falter.
Frankie reaches his arm around to catch me. We stand in the middle of a rainstorm, with a nightmare group of bad men surrounding us. But for this moment, we’re both still alive, and that’s all that matters.
