Page 51 of A Love Most Brutal (Morelli Family #2)

“Wouldn’t dare, think that, Mrs. Orlov,” he says, and if I’m not mistaken, he sounds almost relieved. Behind us, we hear more screeching tires and gunshots, but Samuel pulls the wheel in a quick maneuver to the right, cutting in front of a semi onto an off ramp.

“I still can’t believe you shot me!”

“Never been shot before?” I ask. My eyes search out the back window for sign of one of Tenneson’s cars.

Samuel turns right, sending me careening into the car door again, and I think we might be clear when the third of Tenneson’s SUVs drives over the sidewalk to get past the semi.

“They’re on us.” I curse, and lower the window again, reaching the gun out and shooting three shots, only one hitting the windshield of the SUV.

Their car narrowly avoids clipping a light pole, but stays on us, speeding up and shooting shots of their own. I grab Maxim’s neck and pull him down, him groaning as he leans sideways toward me.

“Fuck this!” Nikolai screams. “Why are they shooting at us?!”

He’s in the process of pulling a phone out of his pocket and I thud the butt of the gun on the side of his head, not hard enough to knock him out.

“Ouch,” he whines, and protests when I take the phone.

“Do you want to die?” I ask, exasperated by him.

“Mary,” Maxim warns with a groan, and I follow his eyes to where the SUV is gaining on us to our left.

I curse and shoot three more rounds into the car, the first two missing the gunman, and the third landing on his hand, making him drop the gun he was just aiming at us.

Samuel swerves the car into theirs, the vehicles colliding against each other with a horrible clatter and demolishing both cars’ shiny exteriors. I slide as far away from my damaged door as possible.

We swerve apart from each other to avoid a motorcyclist, and then Samuel goes for a third collision like we are fucking bumper cars, and this one pushes the SUV into oncoming traffic. We hear the loud sound of their collision as we speed on.

It appears we’re in the clear of enemy vehicles when, of course, sirens sound off behind us. It’s Samuel’s turn to curse as we speed up, weaving through traffic.

I hastily type Leo’s number into the cell and he answers with a sharp, “Mary?”

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m good, Nate too,” Leo says, yelling. “I lost Santi though. He followed one of the cars off the road toward the bridge.” I slap Samuel’s shoulder and point in the general direction of said bridge. We’re not far from it now. “Are you hurt?”

“Max is in bad shape, but—” I cut off as our town car is hit from behind, lurching us forward with that too-loud crunch. Nikolai screams, and when I look back it’s a cop car, bright blue and red lights flashing in the window.

Samuel speeds up.

“Call Willa,” I shout. “Get her to call her cops.”

I can only assume Leo is doing as I say, because he hangs up as Samuel jerks the car again, this time down an alley.

The cops lose time in missing the sharp turn and we gain distance.

Barely any breathing room, but enough. I lean forward and reach into the center console where Samuel has a handgun and an extra cartridge of bullets.

“Get to the bridge,” I command and turn to look at Maxim who is so, so pale. My strong man looks weak, his breath coming now in shallow pants, his eyes terrified. I use the hand that’s not gripping the gun and gently cradle his cheek, careful not to press the wounds on his jaw.

We reach the end of the alley and burst onto the street without stopping, narrowly missing an oncoming car that lays on its horn as we pass. The disturbance gives us more time to break away from the police, but we’ve met up again with the last of Tenneson’s cars, this one smaller than the others.

Shots immediately start pelting our car and Nikolai screams that we aren’t the enemy here.

“I love you, Maxim,” I say, because every time a bullet hits the car, I am more certain it will be the one to slice through my brain or his and I can’t die not having said these words.

“I’ve loved you for longer than I could admit to myself, and I tried so hard not to, I really did.

But you are the most perfect man, frustratingly loyal, and intensely forgiving. ”

More shots hit the front of the car, and Samuel shouts as one breaks through the window and hits him.

I lean closer to Maxim in the chaos, needing to say this. “You’re impossible not to love, and I was a fool to think I could fight you off.”

“ Marianna ,” he tries.

“I love you,” I say again, and press my mouth to his in a desperate kiss.

“Bridge ahead,” Samuel says with a pained voice, his foot slamming on the gas as he tries to pass the other car. Half of it is closed for construction tonight.

I sit up and scan the area for Colton’s car, missing it entirely when it races in front of us.

Samuel brakes, but the other car is too busy shooting at us and when they try to stop, it’s too late.

Their car slams into the side of the SUV, crunching the first half of their vehicle and flipping the larger one onto the bridge’s entrance, sending it over lanes of traffic while our car spins out from the sudden stop.

When things finally stop moving, and the incredible noise quiets, I catch my breath and look first to Maxim. He’s slumped in his seat, but when I put my face in front of his, he blinks awake. Alive.

A sigh of relief slices out of me and I press my lips hard against his forehead, undoing his seatbelt and mine before kicking with both legs on my bent door until it creaks open.

I get out of the car and tug Maxim out with me, using all my strength to hold him up and shuffle him across the street, far enough from the car that if it were to explode, I think he’d be safe.

I help him get on the ground, his shallow breaths panting against my head.

I put Nikolai’s gun in his palm and close his fingers around it.

“Stay with me,” he says.

I smile and shake my head. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without help from everyone and I refuse to stumble at the finish line and let Colton Tenneson walk free.

“I love you,” I say again.

“Marianna, please don’t,” he starts, but the sirens are near and I’m running out of time. I spin around, Samuel’s gun in hand and jog the short distance to the bridge.

Tenneson’s car is upside down, and as I sneak toward it, someone emerges from the open passenger window. It’s Elise. She bleeds from her forehead and looks crazed as she stumbles to standing in front of me.

“ You, ” she yells, already charging in her unbalanced way. A gunshot goes off behind me, and I duck to avoid another, but it’s the only one. I glance back to see Maxim’s arm still raised, pointed at the SUV.

He meets my eyes, and then nods.

When I turn to continue, Elise no longer charges for me, instead she lies unmoving on the asphalt. I see as I get closer that her eyes are now vacant, the life drained out of her body.

On the far side of the car, I hear the crunching of glass against the road and when I peer around it, I find Tenneson crawling away from the car using his arms and one leg, the other obviously broken, pulled behind him.

He looks like the weak, miserable man he is, someone who would sell children and people, robbing them of their lives.

“Tenneson,” I yell, and he halts before looking over his shoulder with a sneer.

It’s unceremonious, the lifting of my arm, shooting the final bullet into him. He falls dead before he can speak any of his nonsense at me, choking on his own blood as it pools beneath him.

He deserves worse.

Sound finally reaches me, shouts from behind me, a helicopter spotlight pointing down on the bridge. I squint up at it and let the gun clatter to the ground before putting my arms above my head.