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We both knew he needed to be careful about when to strike. In the darkness, I could see Sofia's gaze darting between the three of us, the white in her eyes shining.
I had to act quickly. I looked at Archer, his grip on the gun tight, and then I glanced at Sofia, who was still on her knees, trying to catch her breath. I couldn't let Archer hurt her or her brother. Her brother was on the ground in front of her, his head in her lap as she stroked his hair.
I slowly raised my hands, my knife dangling from my fingers. I knew that I had to make a move; I couldn't just stand here and wait for Archer to decide my fate.
”Let them go,” I said, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible. ”Please, they haven't done anything wrong.”
Archer looked at me, his eyes cold and steely. ”You're right, Costa. I could kill two birds with one stone here.”
He smiled. It made a shiver run down my spine.
”But I'm not going to let them go,” he said. ”They know too much.”
I had to strike then.
I caught Grayson's eyes behind him and gave him a nod. In a split second, he rushed at Archer, tackling him to the ground.
I lunged forward, blade in hand, my heart beating like a drum. Archer thrashed against Grayson as he tried to free himself, but it was no use. I was too close and the cold steel of my blade pressed hard against his neck.
Grayson was still trying to wrestle the gun out of his hand. The struggle was intense, but I kept my eyes on Archer, waiting for him to make a move. He glared up at me, his eyes burning with hatred.
Grayson twisted the gun out of his hand as I pressed my blade against his throat. It clattered on the ground next to him.
He glared at me and snarled, baring his teeth like a wounded animal. ”You're not going to kill me,” he said. ”I know who you are. You're a fucking pussy. You let everyone do your dirty work for you. You don't know shit about me, Costa, but I know everything about you.”
My hand shook as I held the knife to his throat, bile rising in my throat. I wanted blood. I wanted his blood. Even if I passed out taking it from him, at least he wouldn't hurt Sofia again.
Grayson punched Archer on the side, still holding him upright.
”You guys can beat me up, but I've already won,” Archer said. ”Whose face do you think your girlfriend is going to see whenever she closes her eyes at night?”
I glanced at Sofia, who was still holding her brother's head on her lap, and charged at Archer. The scuffle was quick; he was being held by Grayson and his neck was exposed so it was easy to slash his throat. Blood poured down the front of his clothes and I had to look away as it pooled around the collar of his polo shirt.
He fell to his knees. It took me a second too long to realize that he was scrambling for his gun; lunging to the left as he did so. I heard another gunshot and something felt like it grazed me, hard and sharp enough to make me wince for a second, but not enough to call my attention with my adrenaline pumping through my veins.
I felt woozy so it was hard for me to be as fast as usual.
Damn my stupid fear of blood.
The gun was on the ground, inches from his fingers as he tried to pull it to him. I grabbed my blade and lunged at him, my knife raised.
He tilted his neck back, showing me the blood spurting from his throat and I found myself retching instead of reaching for him. He might as well have laughed when he set his gaze on mine, still trying to reach for the gun as he inched his fingers closer and closer to it.
I was about to stab him when he managed to grab it again. Grayson threw himself on his back protectively, but a gun was a gun, and as soon as he pointed it at me, I realized I was probably done for.
Everything after that happened in slow motion.
Sofia moved.
Sam let out a gut-wrenching cry and reached for her.
She struck at Archer and more awful red blood spilled out.
She screamed.
The sound of a gunshot rang out, a high-pitched whine resonating in my eardrums. Grayson stumbled back, and my throat dried as I wondered if he was going to die, ifIwas going to die.
Sam seemed to wake up from his stupor. He dragged himself along the ground in front of Archer as I tried to swipe low at him so he wouldn't be able to fire again.
