“Yes, she’s fine at the moment. I’m going to have to leave you right here, piccola. Will you be all right? You can’t move. Everyone is armed. Stay close to the wall and low to the floor. Also, stay quiet.”
“I’m good. I know the rules. Tell me what you’re going to do.”
“I’m going to get them to shoot each other without shooting Clariss, or us. That way, we’re not in any way involved in this mess.”
She tried to look up at him but moaned softly and covered her face with her hands. “I am going to have so many questions for you when I can see again and we’re alone in a place where we’re not in danger.”
He kissed the top of her head again and gently put her against the wall. “Stay put. You’re right at the mouth of the shadow.” He wanted her there so there would be less stress on her body and hopefully the headache would ease fast. If it didn’t, in spite of the danger of discovery, she would be going back with Clariss in the car to the cousins, and then Drago and Demetrio could escort her to the plane.
“I’m not moving,” she reiterated.
Taviano didn’t wait. He caught a small feeder tube that took him straight across the room to Carlos, the New Yorker in the red shirt. He was closest to Clariss and seemed the most protective of her. In a pinch, Taviano would bet Carlos would dive for her and take her to the floor to keep her from getting shot. If he didn’t, Taviano would have to do it and hope she never saw who actually tackled her.
Iker and Santiago exchanged a few more heated words, Iker essentially telling Santiago that he could do anything he wanted with “the bitch” and he wasn’t waiting around for her boyfriend to show up. He had things to do. Santiago sent him a smile that all but said that he was a dumbass hothead and was going to die the moment they had him alone.
Taviano stepped into a shadow that slid up behind Iker. The vice president of the local chapter had a bad habit of caressing his weapon as if it were a woman. He would take it out of his waistband and wrap his fist around the grip so he could stroke the barrel with his finger. Taviano knew it was a ploy so that when he really wanted to shoot someone, they had already been lulled into a false sense of security.
This time when Iker performed his little “habit,” Taviano guided the VP’s arm toward the wall between Carlos and Clariss so the gun lined up perfectly, his touch so light, it was impossible to feel. The moment both people were in the clear, Taviano allowed only his hand to momentarily emerge from the shadow, squeezed the trigger with his gloved finger, then he was gone, sliding back into the tube. Immediately, he caught the feeder so that it brought him straight back to Clariss.
Carlos reacted just as expected, gun drawn and firing steadily at the enemy as he knocked Clariss from the chair and covered her body with his own. The New York Demon had chosen his targets already and he took down three almost before he hit the floor. Iker turned and shot at Santiago as he threw himself down and rolled toward his men, shouting at them to kill the New Yorkers. He had no idea what had happened or what had caused his gun to fire, but Santiago was relentlessly shooting at him.
Carlos turned the desk over for protection and dragged Clariss behind it. She didn’t struggle against him but didn’t help at all, reacting more like a rag doll, which alarmed Taviano. She seemed almost in a comatose state to him. Carlos gave her a harsh warning, ordering her to lie on the floor behind the overturned desk and not move. The moment he scrambled to the corner, peering around it, seeking targets, she lifted her head and took a quick look from one end of the room to the other, trying to find an exit. Clariss was an intelligent woman, pretending to be cowed when she wasn’t. Taviano allowed himself a sigh of relief.
Carlos took aim at one of the LA Demons and squeezed off a single shot. As he did, Taviano rode the shadow that came in to the right of him. It was a tricky angle, especially as the shadow narrowed, and he didn’t want to be seen by Clariss if she happened to turn her head and look toward Carlos. Taviano slid feetfirst, catching Carlos in the rib cage and hip, sending him sliding into the open, exposing him to his enemies. Iker rose up on his knees and poured bullet after bullet into Carlos’s red shirt. Simultaneously, Carlos shot Iker, creating a zipper up the middle of his body from groin to throat. Iker fell backward onto the concrete and Carlos simply lay still.