Page 38 of Betraying Family Vows

But something in his face changes.

One of the men turns, raises a gun right at me.

And fires.

Bullets slam into the windshield.

I scream and drop below the dash, arms over my head.

My ears ring with the deafening gunfire.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

More bullets punch through the windshield, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the glass. I curl into a ball on the floor, heart beating so hard I think I might have a heart attack.

Why the fuck are they shooting at me?!

John, my savior, my contact, my fucking ticket to justice, just ordered his men to shoot me.

Another shot, louder. Closer. Glass breaks over my head and falls on me.

Tears burn my eyes.

They're trying to kill me.

Bullets ping against the metal frame of the car. I peek up above the dashboard. They're firing toward Dimitri now.

Shit, I'm going to die here. In a car at a gas station in the middle of fucking nowhere.

No. No. No. I don't want to die.

Something snaps in me, a surge of instinct or adrenaline, and before I can think, I'm lunging for the passenger door, shoving it open, and crawling out.

I move fast around the back of the car, ducking low, bullets whipping past. The gunshots are constant now and I feel like they are all around me.

I slam against the bumper. I cover my ears and scream as chaos swallows me.

From this position, I can see Dimitri. He's moving, fast. One man drops, then another, and another. Blood sprays across the concrete like paint.

I can't breathe.

They're everywhere.

A shadow moves to my right.

I turn and look up into the barrel of a gun.

This is it.

I freeze, breath frozen in my lungs, tears streaking my face.

I'm dead.

His finger tightens on the trigger.