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He didn’t get a chance to finish. Claire pulled her arm forward, bringing it back hard and slamming her elbow into his stomach. The air rushed out of him, forcing him to loosen his grip on her, giving her enough room to get free.
Once she was clear, Kellan didn’t need a command to know what to do. We both raised our pistols and took a single shot apiece, one hitting him in the shoulder and the other in the arm. He dropped his gun, crying out in pain before turning and running as quickly as he could around the alley corner.
Kellan and I hurried over to Claire. Like Ma, she was a bit bruised but otherwise alright.
“I’m fine!” she shouted. “Get him!”
Kellan and I met eyes, nodding to one another before breaking out into a sprint, turning the corner where Jose had gone.
“No! Let me go!”
I was confused, but all was revealed when I made it around the corner. Jose was there, but he wasn’t alone. He stood before Miguel, who had arrived with a van of his own, two machine gun-wielding guards at his sides.
Miguel clucked his tongue. “Jose, Jose, Jose. What a sight. You got too big for your britches, hombre.”
“Lo siento!” Jose shouted. “I’m sorry! Tell the bosses that—”
Miguel chuckled. “Didn’t you see what happened back there? Amigo, I’m your new boss. Don’t worry, we’re going to have a long, long sit down about your betrayal.” He nodded to his guards. “Get his culo out of here. I’ll figure out what to do with him later.”
Miguel spotted Kellan and me, making his way over to us with slow confidence.
“Once more, I must apologize for those two,” he said. “The deal will continue as planned. I will be in touch to see it through.”
“What about him?” Kellan asked.
Miguel smiled. “He and Juarez acted without the blessing of the bosses. Such behavior is, ah, frowned upon. You won’t need to worry about him. I took the liberty of leaving a car at Pussycats for you to take to the hospital. Have a good night, mis amigos.”
With that, Miguel nodded one last time before turning and going back to his van, stepping into the back, the vehicle peeling off once he was inside.
“Connor.”
I turned to see Claire approaching. Relief washed over me more intense than anything I’d known in my life. I opened my arms and pulled her close.
“I love you, Claire,” I said. “More than I can believe.”
She smiled. “Same to you, handsome.”
We kissed. It was over. Our new life, whatever it might hold, could begin.
* * *
We reached the nearest ER in the SUV that Miguel had provided. When we arrived, I received a text from Miguel containing two photos—the first one was of the Pussycats main floor cleaned spotlessly, not a trace of bloodshed remaining. The other was of Jose, tied to a chair with a gag in his mouth. I chuckled, deleting the photos, knowing that Jose was going to get what was coming to him.
“I’m fine!” Ma shouted, the doctors swarming around her, one of the nurses easing her into a wheelchair. “I’m not helpless just yet.”
“You were in a damn car accident, Ma,” Kellan said. “They’re going to make sure you’re not banged up on the inside.”
“Aye, whatever.”
I stepped over to Ma and gave her a kiss on the forehead before she was wheeled off.
“I’ll be here,” I said to Claire, kneeling down next to her wheelchair and giving her hand a squeeze. “Right here. No matter what.”
She smiled. “You better be.”
“I always will.”
I leaned in and kissed her slowly, her tongue finding mine for a split second.
