Sasha screams and collapses, clawing at his face, blood slicking the pavement.
I’m on them in two strides.
I pull Amber back against me, one arm locking around her shoulders, my body between her and him without thinking about it. My gun is back in my hand, aimed down at the writhing shape on the ground.
Sasha laughs wetly through the pain. “You won’t find her,” he spits. “Kill me and you’ll never find Coral.”
I look at him.
“I already know where she is,” I say.
Amber sucks in a breath behind me. This isn’t the way I’d planned for her to find out.
“And we’re getting her back.”
Sasha’s face twists into one of doubt, then realization, then horror. He knows I’m not bluffing. That he’s already dead.
“Amber?” I ask. “Do you want to do the honors?”
Amber thinks about it. I can see her considering it, her lip trembling with rage.
But then she shakes her head. “I’ve given this fucker enough of my energy.”
I nod. “Do you want to turn around?”
“No.”
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “My brave girl.”
“Wait,” Sasha splutters. With all the blood he’s losing, his shirt finally has a good excuse to be red. “I can tell you things. I can?—”
His voice annoys me, even more. Without hesitation, I pull the damn damn trigger.
The sound is deafening in the alley.
Silence follows.
I turn to Amber immediately. “Are you hurt?”
She shakes her head, dazed. “No. Are you—was that true? You know where Coral is?”
“Yes,” I say. “It was.”
“So…” She sucks in a breath. “She’s alive?”
I frown. “Of course she’s alive.”
Before I can ask her where she got that idea, she collapses into me, arms wrapping tight around my waist. “Thank you.”
I hold her close, resting my forehead against her hair.
“You never have to thank me,” I murmur. “Never,gemma mia.”
She looks up at me, eyes bright with tears and adrenaline, and I kiss her.
After a moment, I pull back and guide her toward the street.
“Come on,” I say softly. “We’re going home.”
