Page 3 of Colombian Chemistry

Running footsteps.

A woman’s if I heard correctly.

I zeroed in on the sound, then heard the patter of more feet and huffing breaths. Men. Several of them. Just behind her.

Before I could get any more information, a blonde woman flew around the corner and collided into me. My fresh groceries from the market exploded from my arms and scattered across the dirt street. A scream erupted from her lungs as she pushed back away from me, and it was then I saw her face.

“You,” I whispered as I saw the same face that had been staring at me from the beach just last night.

“Please don’t hurt me!” she screamed as she stepped away from me, but then her gaze swept me up and down. “Wait. It’s you. You... you saved me.”

Before I could answer and deny it, her gaze flicked left down the cross street, and her eyes widened.

“Alto!” a deep man’s voice called. “Stop!”

“Don’t let her get away!” another man called.

She spun and looked at me, her bright blue eyes glistening with fear and tears as they pleaded with me for help.

Don’t get involved. Don’t get involved. Don’t get involved.

But those eyes. They penetrated me and plucked at those last shreds of my humanity I didn’t even know I still had.

Fuck.

Three Columbian men tore around the corner and launched at her, but I reached forward and snagged her arm. With one quick tug, I tossed her to safety behind me.

“Stay behind me,” I commanded as I squared up with the men now stuttering to a stop when they saw me.

“This doesn’t concern you,” the tallest one said, his thick black mustache twitching as he curled his lip at me. “Give us the girl.”

“Just kill him and grab her!” the short one with the bald head spat in Spanish.

Guns poked from their waistbands, and I contemplated my options. In a perfect world, I’d leave them all alive. Not because I wanted them to live or had issues with snuffing out their existence, but because of cleanup and the pain in the ass it would be to dispose of three bodies. There was no cleanup crew on call anymore to sweep away the traces of my kills. No. Cleanup for these guys would fall on my shoulders. It wasn’t dark yet, and small businesses and a few houses surrounded me—too many witnesses.

They had to live.

I glanced over my shoulder at the terrified beauty behind me.

And so did she.

CHAPTER TWO

Marcus

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“Give her to us. Now,” the tall one demanded. “Or we kill you and take her anyway.”

Every nerve in my body fired as I prepared for the encounter. I hated how much it made me feel alive again... how much I would enjoy hurting these men. I shouldn’t. Normal men wouldn’t. But I did. The desire to fight and kill coursed through me like drugs I had almost forgotten I needed.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart drummed slowly in my chest, and I felt a slight flutter from the anticipation.

“Then you’ll have to kill me, I suppose,” I answered calmly. “If you can.”

“Don’t be a hero,” the tall, thin one with the missing front tooth spat. “Move out of the way.”