“She’s the girl, isn’t she?” the guard says, trying to approach us.
He’s going to take her to my uncle, I’m sure, so I point mine at him instead.
What the fuck are you doing, Brandon?
“What are you doing?” the guy says, making a face. “Grab her!”
When he tries to come closer, I spit, “Don’t even think about it.”
We’re both on edge now, pointing our guns at each other with the safety off. Neither of us flinches. If we do, we’re done for. I know how well these men are trained. I was there myself, witnessing it, participating too. My uncle’s rigorous and particularly demanding when it comes to his men. They have to be top-notch shooters and hand-to-hand combat experts. How else is he going to protect his hotel, his money … his life?
But right now, I only care about one life, and that’s hers.
I don’t know why I can’t fucking bring her down, but I can’t let this guy take her to my uncle either. No fucking way.
“Brandon …” the guy mutters.
But it’s too late.
BANG!
I shoot him right in the leg.
Without thinking, I grab her by the wrists and drag her along with me down more corridors and through more doors.
The man we left behind screams out in pain. I almost wanna apologize, but we have no time.
Dixie seems confused as she keeps looking behind her. “What about that guard?”
“Forget about him,” I snap.
“But he’s your co-worker, right?” she says.
He is.
Or he was.
Because I don’t think I’m going to get away with this.
Once my uncle finds out what I’ve done, he’s going to kill me too.
Fuck!
I’m sure that guard has called the others already, so they must be on our tail. I evade the main hallways and move through staff only areas to avoid them. Everyone’s on the lookout for her right now, so I’ve gotta be careful.
Pure adrenaline is keeping me going right now. I feel like I’m on a high, but I know I’ll come crashing down soon. Damn. Why the fuck does this have to be so difficult?
Everything seems to fall apart around me. My job. My life.
Everything I knew.
In the midst of all the chaos, I’m battling my inner demons. Dixie Burrell, the one girl who got away, has shown up right on my doorstep, and now we’re stuck together. What the fuck am I going to do with her now?
If that fucking bomb of hers hadn’t exploded, she might’ve still had a shot at getting out of this situation. But now that part of the building is gone, my uncle will want retribution, and he’ll demand it in blood. Hers. And perhaps mine too while he’s at it.
I can’t let it happen.
Even though I hate her guts for what she did to me, I don’t want her to die. Yet.
But all my uncle’s guards are on the hunt for us right now, and I need to make sure they don’t find us. But where the fuck do I go?
The hotel isn’t safe anymore. There are cameras left and right, and I’ve already been caught on tape dragging her through the hallway. He knows I have her.
In a corner of a staircase, I come to a halt and run my fingers through my hair while still keeping my gun pointed at her. I need a second to breathe. Just one second to think, goddammit.
“Don’t. Move,” I hiss.
“I wasn’t planning to,” she retorts, crossing her arms. “So what’s your plan, huh?”
I don’t answer. She’s trying to get on my nerves to make me snap, but it won’t work.
I know she wants me to kill her. She’d rather die than face my uncle because he wouldn’t let her off the hook so easily.
But I’m not letting him have the honors. If anyone’s going to kill her, it’ll be me. End of story.
“Thinking of doing it?” she murmurs.
There’s a certain look in her eyes.
“Do it then,” she hisses through her teeth.
Suddenly, her hands are around my gun, and she buries the metal right between her tits, forcing me to focus on them. “C’mon then. Shoot.”
My jaw clenches, my throat tightening. My finger is on the trigger, ready to shoot. She deserves it. My life was altered forever because of her. She’s the cause of my misery. My pain. Everything that’s happened so far is her fault. And all of it has led up to this moment where I’m about to kill her.
Just one shot is all it takes. Bang.
A painful jab hits me in the stomach, forcing me to lower my gun.
I can’t go through with it. Not yet anyway. We still have some unfinished business.
The smirk that appears on her face infuriates me.
“You can’t do it …” she murmurs.
A wicked smile appears on my lips as I grasp her arm and tug her along. “I still might kill you.” I shove my gun into her side and force her to walk.