“Stay alive.”
Rafael sneaked away.
I remained.
The two men rounded the corner.
Rafael had disappeared, probably following them and waiting for a good time to grab one.
Where are you, Kazimir?
Sweat dripped down my face.
Outside of the store, people shouted and screamed. More people were shooting. Tires screeched. That had to be the bikers.
It’s almost done. We’re almost free.
On the inside of the store, Kazimir crept forward with his gun out. He was ready for blood. I could see it all over the Lion’s face.
As he passed, I crouched behind a rack of thongs.
Here, kitty kitty.
Two feet close to me, I charged for his back, wrapped my arm around his neck, and slung him down, taking us to the floor. My body slammed against the hard ground.
Kazimir roared, “There you go.”
“Fuck you!”
We wrestled on the ground. Our shirts and jackets ripping. Punching and head-butting. Knee thrusting and upper cutting. Ax kicking and violent elbows to the midsection.
There would be no calm. No rules. No dignity. I tried to tear his fucking face off. I had to get the gun out of his hand. Once that happened, we would be fair.
Kazimir lost his grip on the gun. It slipped and stopped three feet away.
The Lion and I both struggled to go for it at once. Snatching and grabbing. Punching and slamming. Biting and kneeing. And then somehow, we untangled. He rolled to the right into a robe display. I fell back into a shelf. It crashed to the floor.
We both caught our breaths for one second and then charged for the gun, slamming into each other.
Displays of perfumed lotion fell on top of us. Blue cream covered him. White powder decorated me.
Just when I was about to go for the gun again, the bikers showed up, shooting Kazimir’s way. He leapt forward, still grabbed the gun, and ran away.
Goddamn it.
I caught my breath, for the first time in hours, and fell to my knees. Every part of me hurt and throbbed. I wiped some of the white powder off my face.
“Jesus fucking Christ!” Rafael roared from the other side of the store. Blood dripped from his nose. “It’s about time the bikers came!”
I murmured. “Fi-na-fucking-ly.”
Tons of bikers zoomed through the store. I counted ten zipping by with guns, disrupting the space and scaring away more Russians and shoppers. The bikers rushed the Lion out the store and down in the other direction.
“You goddamn right, motherfucker!” Rafael got to my side and beat his chest. “This is our city!”
I ran my fingers through my hair. Every part of my body no longer hurt, it exploded in more pain. Kazimir had given me the fight of my life. I’d be on bed rest for several weeks.
But Eden would be with me too.
For the first time in days, I smiled and walked off. “Let’s go.”
Giorgio’s van sat in front surrounded by more bikers.
I limped out of the store. Wiping away blood, Rafael stumbled after me.
What now?
My phone rang. I rubbed away more powder and grabbed the phone.
Rafael walked on.
I put the phone to my ear and watched the bikers chase Kazimir further down. “Yes?”
The Mouse’s voice roared over the phone. “Call the bikers back!”
“Where are you, friend?”
“Close enough to shoot your fucking head off.”
“Prove it.”
A shot rang out by my foot but didn’t hit me.
I jumped.
Well, you’re a good shot too.
Louis hurried out of the passenger side. “Where the hell did that come from?”
“Do it, Jean-Pierre,” the Mouse urged on the phone. “Tell them to leave him alone.”
I yelled. “Call the bikers off the Lion!”
With an odd look, Louis gestured to Giorgio.
In the van, Giorgio honked the horn.
The bikers swerved and turned around.
People still ran, but not many. Fires had been started in some places. Some shoppers had shifted from running to looting. Cops sirens blared, while mall security cowered with others.
“The bikers are off your lion.” I scanned the space for her and spoke into the phone. “Are we good, Mouse?”
Her voice held edge. “Only he can call me that.”
The bikers zoomed back.
Louis shook his head. “Why didn’t you let them kill him.”
Kazimir limped away and turned the corner.
“Not today. Let the Lion live.” I turned back to the phone. “Are we good for now, Emily?”
“Are you going to let us leave France safely?” she asked.
“That’s an important question. Kazimir has men on the way in planes. I plan to shoot them down. Perhaps, you can convince him to turn them around and keep you both out of France.”
She sighed. “Jean-Pierre, I don’t want a war. I can do my best to—”
“Do your best. If he comes for me, I’ll come for him. For now, get the fuck out of France.”
She let out a long breath. “What happens next?”
“Meaning?”
“Don’t come for Kazimir.”
“This is interesting.” I looked around the area some more. “I know you have a gun pointed to my head, even though I can’t see you. There’s a heaviness to your voice.”