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And I know what I have to do.
It takes seconds but feels like minutes as I reach without thought, grabbing exactly where the switch to unlock the car is and flipping it. Pushing the massive door open, I instinctively find my footing on the step leading to the ground, immediately taking off at a dead sprint in the direction every fiber of my being is urging me to go.
Each step seems to take an eon as I race to my destination, a cry of desperation leaving my throat.
My hands reach out.
A deafening bang fills the air.
My fingertips press into a solid form.
The air starts to warp and compress around me.
I collide with the form, knocking it to the side.
I’m jerked in another direction, an unseeing force redirecting my momentum.
I spin to a heap on the ground.
Then I’m gone.
25
NICOLÁS DE LEÓN
“God, I love you so much!” Izabella moans around her second or third cheeseburger, her words obviously directed at the man who gave it to her and I freeze in place, the entire car following suit. She wipes her mouth and her face turns towards us. “What? What did I say?”
“Did she just say she loves you?” The words leave me almost robotically, my entire system at a standstill, unable to process the moment in real time.
“Yes.” Ezra helpfully answers as he continues eating like nothing weird just happened.
“Woo-hoo! Wicked and Ezra sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes m-oof!” Kai is cut off as I elbow him in the stomach, annoyance starting to filter through the numb shock holding me captive.
Before anyone can say anything else, Ezra speaks again. “There she is.”
“Looks like we’re not the only ones who have had issues with her royal pain in the ass.” Wicked mumbles, her obvious fury at the woman who kicked Snitch permeating the air around us.
She’s nothing if not protective over her raccoons and, I can’t lie, they’re growing on me a little bit too. You know, outside of them literally destroying everything I own. Their personalities and intelligence are larger than I ever gave them credit for. Add to that their fierce loyalty to Wicked, and I might be starting to come around.
The bitch we’re tailing stumbles around drunkenly after getting kicked out of the bar before heading in the direction of where she parked. My lip pulls up in a sneer as she pulls her keys from her pocket clumsily, her intentions clear.
“Anyone interested in calling the cops before she risks someone else’s life to drink and drive?” Wicked echoes my own thoughts and my gaze snaps to her profile for a brief moment, her disgust as sharp as mine. There’s a tightness in my chest that takes me off guard when I remember the video of her car accident, one also caused by a drunk driver.
I flick my attention back to the woman right as she starts passing the dark mouth of an alley, my pulse skyrocketing as a shadowed figure surfaces behind the woman, slamming something over her mouth before dragging her into the depths of the alley and out of sight.
None of us hesitate as we see the woman kick and try to fend off her attacker, immediately grabbing our guns and jumping out of the car.
“Fuck!” Wicked yells right before all of our doors slam shut.
“Lock her in!” I order Ezra as Kai shuts the door in her face when she tries to follow.
We’re going to pay for that later, but there’s no way in hell I’m risking her for this shit. I’ll take all of her fury and more as long as she’s alive to fire it at me. I hear another muffled shout from the cab of the truck–probably something offensive and directed at us–but I push it to the back of my mind. I need to focus on the task at hand.
“Ezra, go right. Kai, swing around to wherever that alley leads. Now!” I spit the words, briefly catching sight of Kai taking off down the street and around the corner.
Unfortunately, we aren’t as quiet as we thought and I see a pause in the stalker’s struggle with the woman as he focuses on us. I barely manage to roll behind a dumpster as he pulls a gun, the loud clang ringing through the air as it hits metal. A muffled scream reaches my ears from the truck parked in the same alleyway as me and my vision goes red.
Time seems to slow as I lean past my cover and return fire, uncaring of the now unmoving form of the woman at the stalker’s feet. He’s just as quick as I am, if not more, rolling deftly behind the brick corner and out of my sight. Another couple shots ring out, the shattering of glass and screeching of metal fill the air as my chest seems to physically cave in. Ezra, who is moving in from the right and already across the street, fires his own gun and I take the opportunity to push forward.
