Page 119 of Fallen Hero

Before I could get my bearings, Jason used my hair to drag me back into the middle of the hangar, toward the plane that would be my death sentence.

I spun, ignoring the pain of my hair being wrenched in the process, and punched his forearm. As soon as the pistol flew out of his hand, I elbowed the bicep of the arm that still had my hair in his grasp.

“Fucking—” he shouted.

If he meant to say more, it was cut off by gunfire.

Before I got hit by one of the bullets that were slamming into the back wall of the hangar, I needed to end this.

I kicked the inside of Jason’s knee, the resulting howl of pain making my heart swell with joy. Unfortunately, my elation was short lived. On his way down to the concrete, Jason grabbed ahold of my shirt and took me down with him.

I landed on my hip. More pain exploded up my spine as Jason tumbled on top of me.

I twisted to my side, freed my elbow from under Jason, and swung it back as hard as I could. I heard his grunt. I reached behind me, feeling for any soft tissue I could pinch, pull, or gouge.

I swung another wild elbow, connected with something hard right before Jason punched me in the back of the head. I blinked away the blood, now flowing freely over my brow and impairing the vision in my right eye.

I felt the tip of a knife press on the right side, just below my ribs, and froze. I didn’t know how long I’d make it if he stabbed me in my liver.

Jason maneuvered to his knees, digging the tip of his blade into my side.

“I should’ve just killed you,” he ground out.

For the first time in twenty years, I cared if I died.

Wasn’t that inconvenient. Here was my chance to kill my sworn enemy, but I could die in the process.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black-clad body sneak into the hangar, followed by a second one with broad shoulders. The men were masked, but I’d know Mason anywhere, and those shoulders were Fallon’s.

“Should’ve taken both of you. Bet that sniveling bitch would’ve been easier to break if I had you as incentive. Instead, all she did was beg and cry. Took fucking months to shut her up.”

Red.

Blood red.

Murderous red.

My vision blurred with it. The room went hazy with it. My veins throbbed with fury.

The snap of a bullet rang out.

Jason’s body slumped over me. But no sooner had it landed on my chest than it was being pulled off.

“Calli.”

I looked at Jason Anderson, face down on the floor.

Dead.

Not by my hand.

“Calista.”

Gone.

No more one more thing.

“Calli, baby.” Mason’s gloved hand wrapped around my upper arm and pulled me up. “Sweetness, I need you to talk to me. There’s too much blood. I don’t know where you’re hurt.”