Page 57 of Betraying Family Vows

I bring my fist down on his face over and over, blood pouring from his nose. I finally wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze.

He goes from red to blue, his eyes bulging. "You don't ever fucking touch her," I yell at him as I squeeze harder and harder.

I hear a noise to my left.

"Watch out!" Athena screams.

I look and see a man charging me. I roll off the man I'm choking and reach for the gun that slid away. I hear two shots but don't feel them, so I know the one running missed.

I grab the gun, bring it up, and press the trigger. The bullet enters the man's right cheek and his eyes darken, his soul fleeing this earth.

Without hesitation, I point the gun at the head of the man I was choking and fire. Blood sprays across the ground and Athena jumps with a scream.

"Inside! Now!" I bark at her.

She doesn't hesitate and runs back into the shelter.

I hear another shout. More footsteps.

How many fucking men did they send?

There's a flash of movement to my right. Two more men charging toward the shelter.

I move to intercept, rolling beneath the first burst of gunfire. Come up firing. One man's kneecap explodes in a spray of red. As he falls, screaming, I'm already on him, pistol pressed against his temple.

I pull the trigger and he folds on himself.

The other man swings a large blade at me. I dodge, but he hits the gun from my hands. I reach for it, but he swings again, slicing my bicep. It's just a scratch, but I don't even feel it.

He swings a third time. I grab his wrist and twist at the same time I kick his legs, causing him to fall to his knees.

I bend his wrist and point the tip of the knife toward his eye. I lean into him. He puts up a fight, but I'm stronger and the knife slides right into his eye socket. He screams and then goes silent, falling to the ground.

I look around, breathing heavy.

No more footsteps. No more sounds.

Finally. It's over.

I run back to the shelter. Back to her.

"You okay?" I ask finally, voice rough.

She nods against my chest.

"Okay. We need to move. There could be more," I say, and walk over to my bag.

"How many did you kill?" she blinks, coming back to herself.

"All of them."

I walk out and over to one of the fallen men, bending to retrieve his sidearm, a well-maintained Glock. I walk back to Athena and hold the gun out to her, grip first.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"If you still want to kill me, do it now."

Her eyes widen. She doesn't reach for the gun.