“No, you run, take your car, and your gun. Run, and don’t look back.” He coughs.
“No! Please,” I try to pull him up from the floor, but even with all the adrenaline, I don’t have enough strength.
“I’m not going to make it far, go! Remember what I taught you. You know how to protect yourself.”
“I’m not going to leave you! Let’s go, Mateo, please let’s go.” I shake my head and try to lift him once more. But he’s heavy and weak.
“Damiano-” he coughs again, and more blood comes out.
“What?” I ask, but before he can answer, I hear the man’s voice again.
“You’re fucking done now, you fucking bitch.” I try to reach for my gun, but Mateo is already pointing it at the man.
POP!
POP!
The room turns black and white.
“Mateo?” I reach for his face.
Hesmiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. When I look down, another hole on his side is oozing blood.
“Leave,” he whispers before his eyes close, and his grip on me loosens.
No.
I wait for the sob, the scream, the cry, or the stab on my chest that finally breaks me apart. I wait for a gunshot that would kill me, but nothing comes.
When I look up, the man is kneeling before us. He stares in my direction, but his eyes are nowhere to be found. His forehead is nothing but a crimson hole.
His body falls limp on the floor; he’s dead.
I kneel there, frozen in shock.
Mateo.
This is not real.
The only thing that brought me back to my senses was a loud bang as the front door flew open. I grab the gun from the floor and crawl behind the curtains of the balcony doors to hide. Just then, I hear a man curse and a radio turning on.
Lights sweep the room. Men in tactical gear flood in. I start to crawl out, thinking help is here, but then I hear a voice coming from one of the officers.
“Leon is dead! The target is dead too. Where is the girl? Find her!”
That monster was with them.
“She’s here!” Cold panic floods my veins. One guy shouts before locking eyes with me as I crouch.
I scramble backward, sliding on Mateo’s blood.
When he lunges at me, I run.
I jump over the railing of the connecting balcony that leads straight to my office. I hear men shouting and boots running after me, but I don’t stop. I go through the kitchen and out the service door. I take the fire exit, taking three steps at a time. By the time I reach the basement level, my lungs are burning.
I burst into the garage and thank God I put the key fob in my jeans’ pocket earlier. The door unlocks when I click the button on the door handle, and I throw myself inside, locking the doors and pressing the start button simultaneously.
Just then, one man reaches my car and throws himself on top of the trunk, hitting the rear glass with his gun, trying to break in. I step on the gas, the car speeding in reverse as I pull out of the spot, sending him flying. I maneuver towards the exit and hit two more men before the car roars out of the garage, smashing through the wooden arm of the gate.
