“I see the fire in your eyes.” He taunts, grinning wide. “Let’s see how strong you’ll be.”
A gunshot cracks through the night.
Loud. Final.
I’m frozen. My breath hitches. No.
No.
I watch Tex crumple, knees buckling, his body slamming against the concrete with a sickening thud.
Daniel’s gun is still raised, smoke curling from the barrel.
He shot him.
He shot Tex.
A scream tears from my throat before I can think. “TEX!”
Gunfire erupts around me all at once.
Automatic rounds shredding through the night, splintering concrete, lighting the shadows with flashes of muzzle fire.
Shouts ring out. Orders. Panic. Chaos.
I don’t care.
I’m already running.
I’m running from one block to another. Every instinct is screaming to take cover. But I won’t leave him alone.
Someone yells my name. I don’t stop.
A bullet clips the concrete beside me.
I flinch, duck, sprint.
The air reeks of smoke, blood, and gunpowder.
“Hold on, Tex, I’m coming—” My voice cracks, my throat thick with pain.
I drop behind a low concrete barrier for cover, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Tears blur my vision.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
He wasn’t supposed to…
I peek out.
Daniel’s gone.
His men are moving back through the concrete blocks but still engaged.
All I can see is Tex lying motionless in a growing pool of red.
I scream his name and launch toward him, slipping across the slick concrete as I reach his side. Blood pours from his torso, bright and fast andwrong.
