“No!” I squealed as I felt his hand clasp around my calf, dragging me away from the stairs.
Despite the pain coursing through my joints, I tried to squirm away. But he was strong and fast, and before I knew it, he was on top of me, pinning my face to the ground with a hand in my hair. “You’re not going anywhere, you?—”
A loud bang punctuated his sentence where an insult should have been. Before I could process what had happened, his body went limp on top of me, nearly suffocating me with the pressure.
And as quickly as he was on me, he was rolled onto his back. I could see it now — the bullet hole between his eyes, the blood pouring out onto the floor from either side of his skull.
My mouth hung open as the shock set in, every breath burning my chest. Even as my mind memorized every bloody detail of his face, one thought pushed its way to the surface.
This isn’t the first time she’s killed for me.
But there was no time for hesitation.
“You’ll be quiet for me, Viper.” Dom tucked her hand under my shoulder, practically dragging me off the floor as we sprinted for the staircase.
Despite being several floors down by the time I’d called out, Spencer and Leo were bounding up the stairs at lighting speed. But at the sound of my and Dom’s footsteps descending, they turned back around, blocking off the fire exits on each floor to create a safe path for us.
Once Dom had me, we didn’t stop for anything. We sprinted down thirteen flights with turns sharp enough to send her crashing against the cement walls. But no matter how fast we ran or how hard the gravity hit her, she didn’t let go of my hand until we reached the basement.
Spencer and Leo were far ahead of us by now, trying to clear any threats before they could reach me. But Dom refused to leave my side, shepherding me through this nightmare on escape attempts no matter the cost.
After winding through the service passages and loading docks that made up the underbelly of the high rise, we finally reached a rear exit of the building, thankfully free of security guards.
But before we could step out into the light of the street outside, Dom looked down and froze in place. “Here.”
She ripped off her leather jacket and threw it over my shoulders before I could process what was happening. The gun she’d slipped into her pants poking out.
Still shaken from my close call upstairs, I stammered. “I’m not cold…”
“You’re covered in blood.”
Looking down at my shirt, I saw exactly what she meant: even in that short moment of contact, a copious amount of blood had seeped into my shirt, along with chunks of flesh that threatened to turn my stomach.
Before I could get sick again, Dom zipped up the coat and ushered me toward the door. “Stay calm. I’m getting you out of here.”
With that, she swung the door open, letting a rush of cold air flood the hallway. I tried my best to hold it together, but in my current state, the gust was enough to rip the air right out of my lungs. Dom’s jacket was thick, but not enough to mask the way my limbs shook from the adrenaline.
“Why’d you take his gun?” My brow furrowed as we walked.
Dom’s jaw tensed. “I wasn’t leaving a weapon somewhere that a woman could get hurt.”
The thought alone, of another woman being hurt by my ex.
And just when I thought it was already impossible to breathe, Dom slipped her arm around my shoulders and whispered into my ear. “Keep your head down. Walk slow.”
I did as she said, training my eyes to the ground as casually as I could manage, letting the loose strands of the tacky blonde wig obscure my face. I couldn’t see much like this, relying on Dom’s touch alone to guide my footsteps. But what I could see were the black boots of security guards rushing past us.
My shoulders tensed, but if Dom was stressed, she didn’t show it. Instead of panicking, she leaned closer to me,pretending to whisper sweet nothings in my ear and giving a command instead. “Laugh.”
Laughter was the last thing I wanted right now. But I forced the sound anyway, not daring to disobey one of Dom’s commands right now.
Clearly, she knew what she was doing. Despite how strained my laughter was, everyone around us was too focused on the high-pitched alarms from the high rise to worry about two passerbys.
The guards rushed past, not sparing a second glance to what they must have assumed was a happy couple in love.
We continued on that way, performing that song and dance for the odd pedestrians who wandered past our route until we finally reached the alleyway we’d started this whole mess in. They snapped pictures of the security team rushing inside, I tucked my head into my chest and prayed that my face was out of their shot.
Leo and Spencer were already waiting for us, bikes revved up and ready to go.
