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His voice has an air of humor in it, which makes this break-in that much more terrifying. “You can try and look as ugly as you want, hun. Ain’t gonna fool me. Got the eye of an eagle.”
The outside draft makes my skin tighten with goosebumps, but I can’t move.
Every step closer reminds me of being stuck in the store. And in here… there’s nowhere left to go. No witnesses. Arnold will visit in a few days to find my corpse sprawled in the kitchen.
I squeeze my eyes tight, wishing them away.
“But we ain’t after you, now are we, Lenny?” Tony says.
I don’t want to die, I beg to God.
They’re probably scanning the dark space, silently signing to one another as they goad us. Which is worse? Seeing the bullet coming, or keeping myself ignorant until the last thing I hear is the creak of their gloved hand tightening around the grip of the pistol?
“Alright, rat. That’s enough,” Tony’s voice turns serious. “Come out.”
The clinking metal of guns cocking makes me twitch.
Please no. Please no.
Tony’s boot crunches against the wood floor, speaking to the man’s weight. I imagine it pressing down on my neck, the gun in my face.
Thump.
Another step closer around the island. A stool scratches the tile when he pushes it. The fact I’m in plain sight pours ice through my veins, and no matter how hard I scream internally at myself to get out of here, I’m left with no ability to move. I dare to turn my head. Maybe he went around the other—
The barrel of the gun swerves to point directly on me, and I yelp in fear, turning away.
“Argh!”
I hear the sound of a knife cutting into flesh, and against my better judgment, I can’t stop myself looking back. Joey… he stabbed Lenny.
A pang of hope wraps my heart when the gun turns away.
Bang!
Lenny’s pistol goes off – making my ears ring – before it goes spinning across the wood floor.
Get ’em, Joey. My body unfreezes with the immediate danger no longer pointed at me, and I crawl around the island to watch the struggle. Lenny and Joey grunt while grabbling one another on the floor, and Tony rushes around to join them. Joey kicks Lenny in the face then ducks into the darkness.
I find an ounce of love for this man buried deep in the old chambers of my heart, only for it to be torn away when all I see is his back dashing away from me. It’s true. He is nothing but a rat. No code, no care, no nothing.
Boom! Joey shoulders what’s left of our front door and sprints out of the house.
My mouth is agape in shock.
I really do mean nothing to him.
The two hitmen scramble to the door, only to straighten and laugh when a poomf and a groan resound from across the way. The rattle of something large being dragged through the gravel of our driveway makes the blood drain from my face.
The cold breath of a tattooed lion of a man puffs through the headlights. Hazel eyes are ignited for a fraction of a second as the silent killer steps through the front door. I’ve seen him before, when we were younger. Leandro – The Hook – Rigiano, known for hanging people in a meat locker and using their corpses as punching bags. A terrible rumor, for a terrifying man.
He tosses an unconscious Joey on the floor.
“What about the girl?” Tony says.
“Let’s do her quick, I gotta get to a doctor.” Lenny holds his leg, wrapping it with his shirt. “Prick sliced me good.”
Leandro says nothing. He only clicks his car off and manages to shut the front door in eerie silence.
