Page 52

He grunted, a low, pained noise. Then he fell to his knees, his hands on his nose going to his groin.
Carlos pulled the knife from his neck, tossing it the ground, roaring. “Puta madre!”
His mistake.
Grabbing it, I scrambled to my feet. I barely even felt the harsh rocks of the gravel lot digging into my skin. I slammed it into his neck again.
“Fuck!" he screamed. His face was pale, his expression anguished. He swayed and his hand went to his neck, clasping it tight. He fell to his knees.
Hands gripped my ankle, yanking. I fell on my ass, my breath leaving my lungs with a shocked huff. Pain shot through me but the feel of the cold end of a gun made me still.
The driver of the car loomed over me, pressing a gun to my cheek. "Get up, bitch. And don't try anything, or I'll shoot your fucking brain from yourcabeza."
“He said not to kill her," Antonio hissed, ripping off his shirt and pressing it to Carlos' bleeding wound.
"You think I give a fuck? If it's my life or hers, I'll take my chances with the boss."
I used the distraction to grab the gun straight from his hands, a move I'd practiced for several years with Rook. I didn’t hesitate, shooting him in the chest. "Looks like it's going to be yours."
The driver stumbled back, his mouth open in shock. His hand went to his chest, his shirt immediately soaked with his blood.
I didn't wait for anyone to react. I aimed for his face.
It took me two shots to hit it, and he fell to ground, dead.
"Damn, Tatiana! What the fuck!" Antonio screamed. He was still next to Carlos, who was now sitting down. Grabbing Carlos’ hand, he pressed it to the wound at Carlos’ neck.
I stood, pointing the gun at him. He got up, staring me down. “You’re making things worse for you. He won’t like it that you’ve killed Jose.”
“Who is ‘he’?” I asked. “Who told you to take me?”
“You know I can’t tell you that.”
I leveled the gun at his face, "Give me the keys."
"I don't have them," he pointed to the driver. "He does."
Keeping a keen eye on both Antonio and Carlos, I searched the driver’s pockets until I found them. As soon as I had them, I backed towards the SUV. "If you let me go nicely, I won’t kill you.”
Antonio shook his head. “He’ll kill me, and he’d take it slow."
I knew it was stupid, but I didn’t want to kill Antonio.
If I shot him in the stomach, he'd have an excuse for letting me escape.
Still moving backwards, I aimed for his belly. Shooting him there would change his life forever, but at least he wouldn't die.
"Sorry about this,” I said, then pulled the trigger. It clicked, but didn't go off.
Shit.
I tried again and again, but the chamber was empty. I was out of bullets.
Antonio's face darkened and he pulled out his own gun, making sure to keep his distance from me.
"Put down that gun and walk inside the warehouse."
"I'm not going anywhere.” I scoffed, steps from the SUV now. “You can't kill me."