Page 106 of Danger Close

I pushed up the hand on the gun until it pointed to the ceiling. He fired a shot as what was left of my mangled right hand uppercut him in the jaw. His head flew back, the force of my punch throwing him to a stand off his knees.

Another gunshot. Glass shattered over Trinity. She hit the ground, her hands over her head.

Ray let go of the gun as blood burst from his firing arm.

Joe lunged for me, taking me to the ground, as he brandished his own firearm from the back of his trousers.

I crawled across the glass-covered ground. A thousand shards pricked my skin, sinking into the wound as I openly wept at the pain. I kicked Ray’s gun far, far away from him, letting it skitter and spin across the dirty floor, useless and out of reach.

Joe held a Glock to Ray’s head as he placed a knee on his chest. “Move, and I kill you.”

Ray looked up at him, anger in his eyes. Blood pooled below his shoulder.

“You okay, kiddo?” he called out.

“I’m good,” Trinity responded.

My vision blurred as I swallowed.

The pain in my hands. So much pain. So much wetness. Everything smelled of copper.

“Teri? You okay?” That was not Joe. That was Cobra. His voice was hard. Commanding.

Black spots floated in the corners of my vision as I tried to look down at my hands.

“Princess, you’ve got to tell me what’s going on. I can’t take my eyes off this motherfucker.”

There was a hint of desperation in his voice. I could hear it. It tugged at me, but I couldn’t stop the trembling in my hands. I couldn’t fight the darkness creeping in as I stared at my blood-stained palms, my flesh like an uncooked hamburger. I wanted to scream, but couldn’t.

I had fought him. I had doneeverythingto stop him this time. I had mutilated myself to fight him.

There was so much blood. My blood.

“Mommy?” Trinity’s voice sounded very far away.

“Wifey!” That was the Ukrainian girl. Daria.

“Teri! Talk to me!” Joe. Sweet Joe.

I lifted my trembling eyes, but my vision blurred.

“Mommy!”

My hands shook, the flesh limp and vibrating with my unsteadiness. Meat. Blood. Flesh. It was too much.

For the second time in as many weeks, blackness took over.

“Teri!” Joe called out at the same time as Trinity’s face appeared in the pin prick of my vision, before I fainted.

Chapter 49

Dying is a Character Flaw

Cobra

Teri fainted. Thank God Trinity caught her. The relief that waved through me when Trinity called out, “It’s not life threatening!” felt like getting doused with cold water.

I sent Trinity to the hospital with her mother while Daria and I hog-tied Clark and dumped him in the trunk of her vehicle. She had plastic in the back of her truck, along with a saw, and a small arsenal, and enough cleaning supplies to remove our DNA from the filthy house.