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Well, now I know. The guilty look on his face confirms it all. I’ve been played.
“What the hell, Antonio?” I slap my forehead.
I’ve heard about identical twins switching places on stage or screen, at fashion shows, parties, dates, school tests, job interviews. But this? This is going too far. And it’s not the least bit amusing.
“Does Orso know?” I ask.
Antonio shrugs. “I don’t know.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t know?”
He touches the nape of his neck. “I mean I didn’t tell Dad, but he might already have found out by now, especially if Leo’s awake.”
My eyebrows go up. “You drugged your brother?”
And here I thought he was the sane, reasonable one.
“No!” Antonio gives me a look of horror. “I… got him drunk. Very drunk.”
He looks away. I sigh.
“You know Leo is going to kill you when he finds out what you’ve done, right?”
“I don’t care,” Antonio says. “I wasn’t going to let him take part in a dangerous operation and break Mom’s heart.”
“So you decided to take part in that dangerous operation and break your mother’s heart yourself? Smart.”
Antonio frowns. “I’m not as reckless as he is.”
“I thought so, too.”
He shakes his head. “You wouldn’t understand. I…”
The rest of Antonio’s statement becomes muted as I become aware of someone else’s presence a few feet behind me. I hear his pulse, his breathing. I sense him pulling the trigger.
I push Antonio to the ground just before he fires a shot, but I’m a split second too late and the bullet goes through my upper arm, right through my brachial artery.
Fuck.
Pain sears through my arm and shoulder. Blood soaks my sleeve. I ignore both as I draw my gun and turn around to face the shooter. I fire a bullet at him just as he hides behind a tree.
“Cain?” I hear the worry in Antonio’s voice. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine,” I assure him as I, too, take cover.
I rip my other sleeve with my teeth so I can use it to bandage my wound. Antonio tries to help but I push him away.
“Just take the painting…” I shove the tube case at him. “And go to the van.”
“But…”
“Fuck it, Antonio! Just do as I say!”
He nods slowly and runs away, leaves crunching beneath his shoes. Good. Now, I have only myself to worry about.
I wrap my wound as well as I can. I’m aware, though, that it’s just a Band-Aid. I still need to get the bleeding stopped, which means I have to finish this fight as soon as I can, before my vision blurs and my strength fades. Every second I spend, I lose blood.
I have neither to waste.
I move closer to my opponent. He turns and fires his gun at me. I dodge and fire back. The bullet just hits wood. He fires again, several bullets this time as he runs, trying to put some distance between us. I run, too, ducking, leaning back, rolling on the ground to avoid the shower of metal. One whizzes past my ear. Another hits my side. My vest keeps it out of my skin, but it hurts just the same.
Fuck.
I’m still losing blood. I feel myself slowing down. I have to do something. Now. I have to get the upper hand, the higher ground.
Higher ground.
As we exchange another round of bullets, my eyes comb the darkness for a branch, low enough for me to get on but high enough to give me an advantage. When I find it, I swing myself up. He fires at me but I duck and send a knife flying towards his stomach.
It hits. He drops his gun and staggers back to sit against a tree.
I feel my legs grow weak so I jump down. My head spins. A voice in my head tells me to just leave the bastard alone and go to the car where Antonio can bandage my wound better. But no. I always finish what I start. No survivors. Anyway, this is just going to be quick.
I walk over to the man I’ve just defeated. As I point my gun at the top of his head, I take a good look at him for the first time.
Late twenties. Ginger hair. More like rust. Inked arms.
“Who are you?”
He looks up at me and grins, revealing turquoise eyes and a gap between his front teeth.
“Funny, isn’t it? You don’t know me but I know exactly who you are… Cain Archer.”
My eyes widen slightly. He knows my name?
I press the muzzle of the gun against his scalp. “Who are you?”
He laughs but ends up coughing. Blood trickles from his mouth. But when he speaks again, it’s still in that smug tone.
“What are you… gonna do if I don’t tell you? Kill me?” He gives another laugh.
I glance at the necklace hanging around his neck as I try to piece his identity together. Gold chain. Square onyx pendant. Mafia?
