Page 200 of Bleed with Me

“Or what?” Sonny laughed.

Aryna moved before I could answer. She twisted her head and sank her teeth into the flesh between Sonny’s thumb and forefinger. He screamed, and the warehouse erupted in chaos.

Sonny tore his hand away, cursing viciously, while Aryna kicked and thrashed against the man holding her. His gun shifted from beneath her jaw as he struggled to control her.

One second. That was all my fierce girl gave me.

I lunged toward the guard. He reached for a gun, but I slammed my elbow into his throat. He choked, stumbling backward, and I ripped the weapon from his waistband.

“Run, Aryna!” I screamed, firing at the man holding her. The bullet struck his shoulder. His arm jerked away, and Aryna dropped beneath it, hitting the floor on her knees. “Run and hide! Now!”

She scrambled upright and disappeared between the stacks of wooden pallets, but Sonny lunged after her. I pulled the trigger again, but the first guard crashed into me before I could aim. The bullet hit a steel beam, and the deafening crack tore through the warehouse.

My back slammed against the floor, air exploding from my lungs. The man climbed over me, one hand closing around my throat while the other wrestled for the gun. I drove my knee upward, but he twisted his hips, taking most of the impact against his thigh.

His fingers tightened. Black dots crept into my vision. I clawed at his face, catching his cheek with my nails. Blood appeared beneath them, but he barely reacted.

“You fucking bitch,” he snarled, slamming my wrist against the concrete. Pain shot through my fingers, and the gun slipped free.

He reached for it. I rolled onto my side and kicked him behind the knee. His leg buckled, giving me enough room to crawl forward, but his fist struck my ribs before I could escape.

Agony exploded through my side. I cried out, collapsing onto my stomach. He grabbed my ankle and dragged me backward. My nails scraped uselessly against the filthy concrete as he pulled me under him again. I twisted, striking his nose with the heel of my palm. Cartilage crunched, and blood poured over his mouth.

He roared, raising his fist. I blocked the first punch. The second caught me near the eye. Light burst across my vision, and my head struck the floor.

For a second, everything blurred. But then I heard Sonny shouting Aryna’s name somewhere in the warehouse. He was hunting her. My girl was alone.

Rage burned through the dizziness. The guard wrapped both hands around my throat and squeezed. My lungs convulsed, panic shooting through me.

His face swam above me, blood dripping from his broken nose onto my cheek. I searched blindly around the floor, fingers brushing dust, broken glass, a piece of wood. The shovel.

My hand closed tightly around the handle, and I swung with all my might. The edge struck the side of his head with a sickening clang, and his grip loosened.

Sucking in a desperate breath, I swung again. The guard collapsed beside me, twitching.

I scrambled to my knees, coughing violently. My throat felt crushed, and every breath stabbed my ribs. Blood trickled from the corner of my eye, obscuring part of my vision.

The man groaned and reached toward the fallen gun. I lifted the shovel above my head and brought it down.

Once.

His body jerked.

Twice.

The metal blade connected with bone, and he stopped moving.

I stared at him for half a second, chest heaving. Then Sonny’s voice echoed from deeper inside the warehouse.

“Come out, you little brat!” he yelled, sounding unhinged.

Oh, fuck! Aryna.

I abandoned the shovel and grabbed my gun from the floor. The injured guard I had shot earlier lay several yards away, clutching his bleeding shoulder while reaching for his own weapon. I fired before he could raise it, silencing him forever.

“Kill that bitch already, idiots!” Sonny screamed from the other side, my lips pulling into a diabolical grin.

“Not today, asshole,” I hissed under my breath, sprinting in the direction of his voice.