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“You’re alive,” I hiss, and I look at Claudio. “It’s a fucking trap!”
He immediately pulls out the gun from the holster he was hiding in his boot.
I don’t think twice before I pull out my own as well, hidden in a secret compartment in my chest. I don’t wait one more second.
BANG!
BANG BANG!
I aim and hit Frank in the leg, who howls in anger and pain.
Molly quickly swirls his wheelchair around so he faces the exit instead of us. She pulls out a gun and shrieks, “You bastard!”
Stefan dives under his desk, but I don’t know if he’s hiding or grabbing a gun. I don’t take any chances and aim to kill.
Everyone.
I don’t care who lives or dies. The only thing that matters is that Molly and Frank cease to exist.
BANG!
“Goddammit, why didn’t you check them for guns?!” Stefan barks at his guards.
Shots are fired from all ends, but we have the element of surprise on our hands. Claudio is at my back, shooting at the guards, who block the shots with a table, while I take on the front door where Molly is trying to kill me.
“Uhn,” the guard grunts as he’s shot in the chest and drops to the floor, bleeding profusely.
Claudio shot him, and before the other guard comes charging at him, he shoots him too. The bullet lands right in his knee, causing him to collapse.
“Marcello, that way!” Claudio yells.
I scramble up from my feet as Molly fires shots at me.
“I’ll cover for you,” Claudio says as I run toward the locked door.
I don’t think twice as I point the gun at the lock and fire.
The door bursts open, and I bolt off, glancing over my shoulder briefly, only to come face-to-face with the two guards who were blocking this door. I barely dodge a left-hook, but the second still hits me in the stomach.
I bend over and heave, clutching my stomach.
Images of Harper screaming my name flood my mind.
I can’t die here.
I can’t fucking give up.
Not until she’s safe.
Not until she’s mine … forever.
Roaring out loud, I hold out my gun and shoot the guy straight through the brain. He falls down on the floor, bleeding like a motherfucker. The other guard howls, enraged by the death of his friend or maybe even a family member. It doesn’t matter to me. It’s all just flesh and bones and meat standing in my way.
The minute Stefan chose to betray me and choose Molly and Frank over me was the minute he chose violence.
The remaining guard suddenly jumps on top of me, blocking me from using my gun. We fight, muscle to muscle, clenched jaws and all. When he gets too close, I lean forward and bite his ear off, chucking it aside.
“Urgh.” I grunt in disgust, but now that I have the element of surprise, I punch him in the gut.
He rolls off me in pain, and I scramble to my feet.
Behind me, Claudio is still shooting down guards pouring in from the rear door behind Molly and Frank. But it’s five against one, and blood is pooling underneath his feet.
Fuck.
I try to run to him, but a hand clutches my leg.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growls.
I kick him away, but he refuses to let go.
One glance up at Claudio tells me he’s in trouble.
“I’m coming!” I yell.
He turns his head to me, a blazing fire hiding behind them. “NO!”
I’ve never heard him yell like that before.
“RUN!”
It takes two seconds for the words to circulate through my brain.
For me to understand the message.
He’s sacrificing himself for me.
I don’t think twice and shoot the hand of the guard holding me down. While he cries in pain, I bolt off in the other direction, straight toward the door we came in through. And I bust it open with a lunge kick near the lock. The door is completely bashed in as I smash it open and run for the car.
BANG BANG!
More gunshots follow.
Some guards ran after me in blind pursuit.
After all, it’s not Claudio they want, but me.
But I hide behind the car until they’re out of ammo. Then I quickly jump into the car and hit the gas, blasting off into the sunset at high speed.
But when I look at myself in the mirror, all I see is seething anger.
Not just because of Stefan’s betrayal … but because of my own damn stupidity for not believing Claudio.
“GOD-FUCKING-DAMMIT!” I slam my palms into the steering wheel a couple of times, cursing the roof off this car.
I wipe the sweat off my forehead and open the window to spit out some excess blood. And while I look into my own eyes, I make a vow.
Whatever it takes, I will rescue Claudio.
Harper
With my newfound freedom, I finally went for a much-needed shopping trip after visiting with Andrea. Not just to get some new clothes that don’t make me look like a hooker but also because it reminds me of just how much I’ve missed true freedom. I don’t take it for granted anymore.
