Page 84 of Colombian Chemistry

“If you’re a man of your word, then you have a deal.” Marcus lifted his hands and palmed his gun.

“What?” I gasped. “Marcus! No!”

“It’s fine, Irene,” he said. “I will sacrifice myself for you over and over again. I’m so sorry I failed you.”

“Marcus! You can’t die for me!”

In my mind, I begged Marcus to take the shot. Begged him to kill this monstrosity of a man. I couldn’t believe it, but I didn’t feel even an ounce of guilt over the thought of reveling in his death. Anything was better than Marcus’s death. That was something I couldn’t bear.

“It’s okay, Irene.” Marcus leaned over slowly and put his gun on the ground, then kicked it over to Pedro.

“Smart man,” Pedro said as he leaned down to grab it, pulling me down with him.

We rose together, and he trained the pistol on Marcus.

“Normally, I would enjoy torturing you for days, but something tells me I’m better off putting you down fast. No sense in risking you getting free and causing me any more trouble.”

“And I definitely would.” Marcus grinned.

I couldn’t believe how calm he was as he lowered himself to his knees and placed his hands behind his head.

“I love you, Irene,” he whispered as he looked at me. “Just know that the happiest I’ve ever been was with you.”

“Aw. So sweet,” Pedro taunted.

“I’m ready,” Marcus said as he stared straight at Pedro.

He must have a plan. A bazooka? A missile strike? Something. Anything!

But I watched in horror as he sat unmoving while Pedro took aim.

I didn’t even know what came over me as I elbowed Pedro in the ribs. It was like someone else took over my body for the next several seconds while I reached down into my boot, yanked out my knife, and drove it backward into his balls. He yowled in pain as he pulled the trigger, but Marcus rolled out of the way. I withdrew the knife and spun around, remembering at that moment everything they had taught me. And I remembered that bullet-proof vests weren’t knife-proof. With a powerful thrust, I shoved my blade through the bullet-proof armor right in the spot between the ribs that gave me instant access to his heart.

His eyes widened for a second as they met mine.

I felt no guilt. No remorse. No sympathy. Instead, I jammed it in harder and twisted, just like they had taught me.

The gun clamored to the floor when his hand went limp. His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees then fell forward at my feet. I stared down at his lifeless eyes staring back up at me, breathing a deep sigh of relief that he was dead.

And Marcus was alive.

I spun around to see Marcus launching toward me. He swept me into his arms, kissing me over and over as he squeezed me tight.

“Are you hurt?” he asked between kisses.

“No? Are you?”

“No. I’m fine. I’m just so glad you’re okay.” He cupped my face in his hands and brushed the pad of his thumb across my cheek.

“You were going to die for me,” I choked out. “Why would you give up like that?”

“Well, I just want you to know I would die for you. Over and over again. But...” he gestured to the window, and I followed his gaze.

Knox and Piper waved from their perches on the windowsill.

“I wasn’t planning to die. I knew Knox and Piper had arrived, and they would have taken him out. I knew they were just waiting for the perfect moment.”

“So... I... I just killed a man? And I didn’t have to?”