Click... Click... Click.
A second later, the attackers' firing stopped as well, the clicks of their weapons letting us know they were out of bullets too. Silence settled over the lab.
No gunshots.
No movement.
Just the hiss of the compound and the sound of several men breathing hard. It appeared everyone had reached the same problem at the exact same time. Nobody had bullets left.
I looked back at Terzo and nodded. We’d been in situations like this so many times that no words were needed. Both of us raced from around the table. I tossed my gun aside, no longer needing it.
One big bastard shoved the dead body off him and rose to his feet. One punch from me sent him stumbling backward. But his big ass didn’t drop. He swung at me. I dodged, able to see better in the dark than he could.
When he swung again, I ducked and drove my fist into his stomach, making him double over in pain. With a roar, he rushed forward, ramming his shoulders into my chest, forcing me backward.
My back crashed into the lab table as his fist pummeled my side. I gritted my teeth, pain radiating from my old wound. I needed to get this big motherfucker off me. I elbowed his back, making him grunt, but he didn’t let go of me.
Another punch to my side had me feeling nauseous. I slammed my elbow into his shoulder again, while bringing my knee up. When his grip loosened, I shoved him away from me. I smashed my fist into his face, over and over, blood smearing against my knuckles.
He tripped over a body, falling to the ground with a grunt. I followed him down, still swinging. His fist clipped my chin.Fuck. Ignoring the pain, I punched him harder, feeling his nose break against my knuckles.
I kept hammering his face, not slowing down, not pausing. I couldn’t give him a chance to get another hit in. His face was becoming a swollen mess beneath my fists, but I kept going.
The bastard had come here to kill me. He'd shot up my lab, damaged my equipment, and made my bruised side start hurting again. He would pay with his life for this. His attempts to fight back grew weaker.
The gas was finally doing what it was supposed to do. As his movements slowed, his eyes lost focus. It was time to end this. I wrapped my hands around his throat and squeezed. The bastard clawed weakly at my wrists, but the gas had stolen whatever fight he had left.
When his movements slowed to almost nothing, I placed one hand on his chin and one at the back of his head. Then I twisted forcefully, but didn’t feel the crack I craved. It took me two more tries to finally feel his neck break.
His body went limp. Releasing him, I slowly rose to my feet, side aching. Breathing hard, I wiped blood from my mouth with the back of my hand and looked around the room, searching for Terzo.
Dust still hung in the air. The hiss of the compound continued in the background. My gaze landed on Terzo. I started in his direction, intending to help finish off whoever was left standing.
After two steps, I realized he didn't need my help. One of his attackers was sprawled across a lab table, motionless. Judging from the way the guy’s neck was angled, he would never be getting up again.
The last one wasn't faring much better. Terzo had the bastard on his knees as he stood behind him. One hand gripped the back of the man’s neck while the other was positioned beneath his chin. The attacker's eyes were wide with panic. Terzo was about to snap his neck.
"Wait," I yelled.
Terzo glanced in my direction.
"We need one alive,” I reminded him.
His jaw tightened. "If I don't kill him, you win."
Even after a gunfight, a fistfight, and six men trying to kill us, this motherfucker was still thinking about our bet.
"Think about the bigger picture,” I told him.
Terzo glared down at the attacker. The man appeared seconds away from passing out. Blood ran from his nose. One eye was already swollen shut. The gas wasn't helping his situation either.For a moment, I thought Terzo might ignore me and kill the bastard. Instead, he sighed.
"Winningisthe bigger picture," he muttered under his breath.
Despite the complaint, he loosened his grip. The attacker slumped forward, coughing violently. Terzo glared at me.
"I still think this should count as my kill,” he told me.
"It doesn't."
