I fired one round into Botello’s driver, nailing him in the side of the head. Blood and what was left of his brains sprayed the inside of the windshield and across the front seat of the car limo.
The roaches scattered. The judge dove into his car to take cover. Botello was crouching behind his car, trying to get back into the back seat, when the tire beside him was shot out.
Donovan was fucking with him now. They knew they were dead. The other asshole that pulled Zoey from the trunk tried to fire toward Donovan’s general direction. Poor bastard got an answering shot between the eyes that didn’t miss and left him without the bask of his head.
The last guy left besides the judge, and Botello was crouched behind the trunk of the smaller car.
When he saw me coming, he raised his hand to fire, but I was quicker. He was dead before he had his shot lined up.
Chapter 28
Zoey
Pain. Throbbing painwoke me up.
I was afraid to open my eyes—afraid to be back in the warehouse where the doctor had examined me and determined I was no longer a virgin in front of a room full of men. After he confirmed it, the guy in the suit told his men to beat me to teach my uncle a lesson for his lies.
The men kicked me, slapped me, and punched me. Some took more pleasure in doing it than others, like the guy whose nose I broke. He was all too happy to return the favor.
I wanted to die, but passing out from the pain was enough. It could have been hours or days for all I knew because every time I regained consciousness I would sink back into blissful oblivion. I took a deep breath, ignoring the pain that radiated from my ribs when my chest expanded filling with oxygen.
My senses started to pick up on things, small things. In the warehouse, the floors had been cement and I’d been thrown onto them. There was a bed under me. I was in a comfortable bed with a pillow—under the pain in my head, I could feel the lush softness of it.
“Hey there. You coming back to us?” I swallowed hard, my throat burned at the action so I didn’t try to speak yet. “Take it easy. Go slow or you’ll get sick.” The voice said gently giving me instructions.
I had so many questions, but first I needed to open my eyes. I concentrated on the task and was finally able to open my eyes part of the way. The room was dim and I couldn’t see much, but I saw a woman sitting in the chair beside the bed.
“Who are you?” I croaked out, my throat was so dry and hurt so bad. I wanted water, but didn’t want to ask for it until I had answers to what happened and what was going on.
She had long purple hair. Her jeans were black with rips in them, and she had a black shirt on with distressed writing on it, though I couldn’t see what it said. There was a computer in her lap, that she closed and sat set down on the foot of the bed before getting up to come closer to me.
“I’m Rowan.” She gave me a small smile and reached for something out of my reach. “Here.” She brought a cup with a straw towards my face. “Drink some water. It will help soothe your throat.”
I didn’t know if I should trust her, but what choice did I really have. My body hurt so much I didn’t want to move a muscle, not even my eyelashes because it hurt too much. I took a few sips of the cold water and let out a sigh of relief.
When she pulled the straw away from my lips and asked if I was done, I gave her a small nod. “Where am I?”
