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I search the closet for something to pick the bedroom lock with. If Archer is facing my father and his goons, then I need to be by his side.
Another shot echoes through the air, making me tense. I work even harder to focus on the lock, knowing I need to get out of this room. Finally, the lock clicks and I’m thankful I took the class on safe breaking two years ago when it was being taught.
Quickly, I run out of the room and down the corridor, hardly thinking about what I’m doing.
My heart skips a beat when I see my father and Archer standing outside of the window, each pointing a gun at one another. “No.” I rush out of the cabin without a second thought. “Stop!”
“Adrianna,” my father growls, pointing the gun at me. “What the fuck are you doing?”
I freeze at the other end of his gun, knowing that he would without a doubt shoot me dead. “I’m not coming home to Mexico,” I say.
He growls. “Like hell you aren’t.”
“I don’t want to be married off to some mobster.”
“No, you want to frolic around with a dirty man who was supposed to be your teacher.” He turns his gun back onto Archer. “You should be disgusted with yourself.”
Archer glares at him. “Well, I love her more than you ever fucking have, so I think it’s you that should be disgusted.”
My father cocks his gun. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t shoot you dead right now.”
Archer cocks his gun. “Because I’m the best shot for miles around.”
My father’s eyes narrow and I notice his hand is shaking a little. He hasn’t shot a man for a long while, normally relying on others to do his dirty work. I’m surprised he hasn’t got back up, but perhaps he expected to just have to follow me and find me alone.
“I love him, Father. That should be reason enough.”
My father glares at me. “Shut up! You can’t love a fucking gringo.”
Archer growls. “Don’t tell her to shut up.”
“You made a mistake, Father, coming here alone,” I say.
His hand shakes a little more.
“When was the last time you shot a gun?” I move closer, knowing that it’s been a lot of years. Even his cousin, who he murdered last year, it was just an order. He didn’t actually do the killing. “Twenty years, maybe?”
His eyes narrow.
“Did you know Archer killed a student’s mother only last winter? She was threatening the principal of the academy.”
My father’s hand shakes even more. “Only one of us will walk out of here alive!”
Archer doesn’t hesitate as he anticipates his next move. His finger was ready to pull down on the trigger, but Archer was faster. And before my father even knows what has happened, the bullet has gone straight through his chest. His eyes widen as he drops the gun and falls to his knees on the floor.
A pang of grief hits me, but it’s far outweighed by the relief that Archer is alive. The man was hardly a father to me.
I run into Archer’s arms, wrapping mine around him. “I love you,” I blurt out, unable to contain the truth any longer. He just saved both of our lives, that I’m sure of.
“I just killed your father.”
“Better him than you. He would have murdered you. It was kill or be killed.” I squeeze him tight, knowing that I’ve never felt like this about anyone before.
Archer’s body is stiff with tension. “What the fuck are we going to do?”
I step back and take his face in my hands, looking him in the eye. “Let’s not think about it right now. There’s always tomorrow.” I kiss him. “Right now, we need to be thankful we’re both alive and together.”
He kisses me, thrusting his tongue into my mouth. “I love you more than anything.” He bites my lip. “Hell, I just killed for you. And you are right. I know two guys who will help us clean this up.”
