Page 195 of Sins of the Orchid

We made our way from the main floor to the basement through the side staircase, keeping our bodies low, slithering against the wall. The sun had set, and the glow of orange still lingered in the distance.

Another set of stairs, and we were in the basement. The guard surveyed the area before peeling himself off the wall and rushed across it and through the door. I waited, debating whether to fight them or run. I went to shift away when the other, antsy guard pointed a gun at me. Jesus, where did he keep that shit?

I held my breath, waiting, not sure for what.

“You try to run,princesa,” he hissed. The wordprincesssounded like the worst insult. “And I’ll shoot you without warning. Don’t test me,” he added with a threat.

Adriano shoved me in front of him, keeping his gun at my back. How was it possible to know someone so little? First George, now Adriano. Jesus, who was next?

Adriano pushed me roughly across the hallway. Stumbling, I tried to gain my footing but couldn’t reach anything to hold on to. My hands flew through the air, my knees connected with the concrete floor and my palms landed face down. The roughness of the floor scuffed my knees and the palms of my hands, burning almost instantly. A whimper formed in my throat, but I quickly swallowed it. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. I wasn’t that little girl in the jungle of South America anymore.

I steeled my spine and stood up, straightening to my full size. They might think I was an easy target but Santi, Dad, and my brothers wouldn’t be. They’d shred them all to pieces. If I knew Santi well, he’d hunt them down and make them all pay.

Santi, I thought with a heavy sigh. I fought him to go to work and for what… to get killed.Please God, just let me get out of this one. I’ll listen to my husband better,I added wryly. Maybe there was some obedient, Italian girl in me after all.

Adriano’s phone beeped, a trendy, different beeping sound. Not like his normal ringtone for messages. He didn’t bother retrieving his phone. “That’s Anderson. I have to meet him.”

He threw me a fleeting glance and left without another word. Just like that. No parting words.Nothing.

I watched his back disappear from my view and my life. The profound loss shattered me right to my bones, making my knees weak.

“Move it,” the guard barked.

I narrowed my eyes with agitation but kept my mouth shut.

“Where?” I rasped in a low voice. God, I hope I got out of this alive. “There is no door here.”

Without another word, the other guard started running his fingers through the wall, his movements frantic.

“What are we looking for?” I asked in a hushed voice.

“Secret mechanism, a lever,” he explained.

“Don’t fucking talk to her,” the other guard hissed. “She’ll be dead before today is over.”

A breath caught in my throat; my heart raced against my chest, and adrenaline rushed through my veins. I swallowed hard, breathing becoming impossible. Panic slowly rose, the buzzing intensified. DeAngelo would definitely be disappointed if I just stood here and waited for this asshole to dish out his revenge. I had to figure out something, fight them. If they planned to kill me, I might as well go down fighting.

More shouting and more bullets echoed throughout the house.

“I found it,” the guard exclaimed. He pressed down on something, and a hum sounded from behind a wall. I stood immobile, the drumming in my ears drowning out everything.

I stilled for a moment, letting the calm wash over me. One guard was at my back, the other was at my left. If I wanted to get out, left was the way out, but I needed to eliminate the bigger threat, which was the asshole guard that seemed to have anger issues. So I decided to attack him first. At least, slow him enough so I could get a head start.

And run towards the bullets,I thought wryly. But if the attackers were their enemies, maybe they were my friends. It was the only plan I had.

Shifting my body ever so slightly, I swung my elbow hard and fast into the guard’s gut. I didn’t bother glancing behind me, I shifted to the left. The other guard stood there, and I stiffened my shoulder, shoving him with it just like DeAngelo taught me.

Just like football,he said. Except, he kept forgetting I wasn’t the sporty type.

I barely made it two steps before a gunshot sounded. As if in slow motion, I heard it, felt it pass right by me and hit one guard in the chest. I had no idea where it came from. My ears rang, drowning out the noises of glass crashing and gunshots upstairs. As if in slow motion, I watched his body fall to the ground.

Another shot. A body slumped behind me.

My throat closed as I watched blood pooling on the ground. The look of shock on his face, blood seeping down the side of his mouth. The way his eyes widened, fear in them before his light went out. It reminded me of another sight.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Mom’s sliced throat, blood pooling out of her mouth. So much blood. Devastating fear in her eyes right before her throat was sliced. Before the light extinguished in her eyes. Forever. I blinked my eyes, forcing the images out of my mind. The betrayal must have triggered bad memories.