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And now, he is done pretending.
Flexing my fingers, I call up what I learned about his fighting style that day when the Petrovs ambushed me in the parking lot. Because this time, I need to fight to win.
No more pretending to be mediocre.
If I let Rico win, he is going to kill me.
Blackwater is no longer a safe place for me to stay, because there will be no coming back after what will happen between me and Rico here today.
Our painful and confusing and wonderful time together ends here.
I need to kill him. And then I need to escape.
32
RICO
From the moment I walk into the clearing, I can see that she understands. Understands that there is no middle ground anymore. I will either have my answers. Or she will die.
Convincing myself to do this, to fully commit to this, was more difficult than anything I have ever done. But this is what needs to be done. The only thing that will work. Bullying, humiliation, fear, torture, even kindness and joy… None of that will ever sway Isabella. The only thing that she will never give up, and the entire reason why she is holding on to her secrets so fiercely in the first place, is her life. She does not want to die. So that is what I will use as a bargaining chip. Her life in exchange for the answers I so desperately need.
For a few moments, the forest is dead silent around us. No leaves rustle. No birds chirp. The gray clouds don’t even seem to be moving across the heavens anymore.
The world is entirely still and silent as Isabella and I watch each other from across the grass.
Then I yank out the gun from behind my back.
Pain pulses through my wrist as Isabella’s boot slams into my hand right as I get the gun out. The sheer force of her sweeping kick makes the weapon fly from my fingers. I start in shock at the sheer precision of that move. But I don’t have time to get distracted by it, because Isabella is already going for the gun that is now hitting the ground a few steps away.
I lurch into motion.
Leaping forward, I aim to get my arms around her.
She sees the move coming and abruptly throws herself sideways, abandoning her attempt to reach the gun. My fingers just barely brush her side, but it’s not enough to grab her.
Whirling around, she uses her momentum to swing her fist at my jaw. I yank up my forearm to block it.
Pain vibrates through my bones, traveling up my arm like shockwaves as her strike connects.
Jesus fucking Christ, the woman knows how to throw a punch.
While shaking out my arm to stop the rippling sensation, I twist to the side and slam my boot towards her hip. She knows better than to try to block it and instead leaps back to avoid it.
The moment my leg passes through the air, she lunges at me.
I barely manage to get my balance back before her fist crashes into my side. Since I saw it coming, I had time to brace myself for it, but it still sends a jolt through my body. I swing back at her, but she ducks and then throws a punch towards my throat. Yanking my arm back down, I slam my fist into her wrist, forcing her strike down before it can hit. She doesn’t even grimace at the pain. Instead, she just lunges at me again.
And my God, she’s fucking fast.
Alternating between kicks and punches, she comes at me so relentlessly that I’m forced to back up several steps.
She’s fucking perfect for me.
The thought flashes through my mind so suddenly, and so unexpectedly, that I miss the chance to block her next kick. Her boot smacks into my thigh, making me stagger a step to the side. I leap into the air as she sweeps her foot along the ground, trying to take my legs out from underneath me.
But the more I think about it, the more I know that it’s true.
Sheisfucking perfect for me.
