Rett burst forward, and I squeezed off a shot, the bullet slamming into Grimaldi and making him jerk. Another bullet hit him, and he dropped to the floor.
Grimaldi’s men opened fire, and a storm of bullets erupted. Still firing, I dove at Haz, dragging him around a display that was hit the second we were behind it. Sand and something that looked a lot like fish food created a thick cloud as it exploded. Taking advantage of the distraction, I shoved the entire display forward. Someone shouted as it fell, and we lunged behind the counter for better cover.
Making sure Haz was concealed, I moved to the other side to peer around the edge in time to see Ghost burst up from behind a row of tanks as one of the men moved past. Surprised, the man fired, the shot going wide and slamming into a tank, shatteringthe glass instantly. Water burst everywhere as Ghost grabbed the long muzzle of the man’s gun and pulled it from his grip. He shouted, and Ghost turned it around on him to blast him in the chest. The man flew back, crashing into a tank and making it shatter too. More water whooshed out, saturating the floor.
Haz wailed, “No!” and bolted up, a perfect opportunity for one of these bastards to fire a shot in his direction.
I threw myself at him, the collision knocking us onto the floor as wood exploded and splinters fell like rain.
“Stay down!” I demanded before vaulting over the counter toward the man who’d just tried to murder my heart.
The asshole’s eyes widened, and he stumbled back, pointing the gun right at me. I kept coming, more than willing to take a bullet so I could send him directly to hell. Theclick, click, clickof the empty chamber made panic transform his face as he looked between the useless metal and me. I smiled, nice and toothy like, and he threw the gun, which I batted away before dragging him forward by the front of the shirt.
He struggled and grunted, pulling a knife from somewhere and stabbing it into the side of my arm. I glanced down at the blade sticking out of me and then back at him.
His eyes darted to the side and then bulged when he realized that stunt only pissed me off more. Still holding him, I pulled the blade from my arm and buried it in his gut.
“This is for ripping my coat,” I intoned, twisting the handle.
A gurgling sound erupted from his throat, blood pooling around his lips.
I yanked the knife free. “And this is for trying to kill what is mine.”
The man shook his head adamantly, an effort made in vain because I plunged the blade into the side of his neck and dropped his lifeless form at my feet.
More glass shattered, and I turned just as Hazard rushed from behind the counter toward the tanks.
“Haz, no!” I yelled.
“They’ll die!” he protested, disappearing behind the first row.
One of the men in the back turned to follow, and I dropped him with one shot. Before I could even lower my gun, Ghost rushed past. I turned just as he barreled into the guy sneaking up on me with a knife in his grip.
Ghost caught him by the waist and bulldozed him back, slamming into the front door, which splintered on impact. The two men fell through, glass raining all over the sidewalk as they continued grappling. The fight lasted maybe two seconds before Ghost ended it, leaving the dead man right there on the concrete.
He stepped through the busted door, boots crunching over the debris. “We got a runner,” he said, pointing to the area where Grimaldi had gone down with two bullets in him.
Because of course he wasn’t dead. I never said death was easy, just that it was final.
“Fuck,” I spat, racing toward the back of the store, feet splashing through puddles as I went. “Hazard!”
His brown head popped up from where he was bent over the floor. “Help us,” he called, transferring a fish from his hand into a tank that wasn’t broken.
Rett was doing the same, both of them wet and frantic as they scooped up fish after fish.
Clearly, they were fucking insane.
“Now isn’t the time to worry about those fucking fish!” I demanded, marching forward.
A bullet cut through the space between us, slamming into another tank and rupturing the glass. The yellow sold sign Haz had taped to the front just a little while ago fluttered, and the entire front cracked open, water and glass spraying everywhere.
“Our babies!” Hazard wailed and rushed forward as a bloodied Grimaldi appeared, snatching Hazard around the waist and pressing a gun to his head.
My blood ran cold.
“Scop!” Hazard panicked as if he didn’t notice he was now a hostage. As if the life of that ugly bottom-feeder was more important than his own.
Rett dashed forward, and Grimaldi pulled the gun from Haz to aim it at him.
