Chapter Eighteen—Isabella
The bullet speeds past me and slams into the wall beyond. Shit, I should have known that James would bring backup! I try to twist out of his grip, but he curls his hand around my throat, pinning me to the spot.
"You really thought I would trust you that easy, princess?" he snarls in my ear. "I have back up. And he's not going to let you walk out of here with your precious boytoy."
"Please, just let me go," I beg him. I don't know what we're up against here, but I get the feeling it's going to be bad—really, really fucking bad.
Marcus scrambles to his feet, and the man behind him lifts his gun once more, but Marcus aims his weapon at him and fires a shot into his leg. A gush of blood spurts from his knee, and he lets out a howl of pain, staggering backward. Marcus uses the momentum to charge out after him. I hear a body clatter with dreadful thumps down the stairs until it lands and finally stills at the bottom.
But he's not the only one after us. I can hear footsteps on the stairs, racing toward us. Though I can't see much of what Marcus is doing, I hear another shot ring out, deafening, and the thud of another body hitting the stairwell. There are yells beyond my field of vision, and my heart hammers in my chest. I know what he is capable of, I've seen it, after all, but this... this is more than I can take.
"You working with him, huh?" James growls in my ear. "You really think that's going to be enough to stop me? I get whatever I want, bitch. And if that means you..." He inhales deeply, pressing his face against my neck. I let out a whimper, trying to twist away from him in protestation, but he hangs on to me tight. "Then I'll have it."
Marcus stalks back into the room, spattered in blood. Those men after him must have gotten pretty damn close for him to be sprayed with gore like that. I feel James's gun pressing into my ribs, the cold metal digging into my side. And it's then, for the first time, that it really hits me—he'll kill me. He will kill me.
Marcus doesn't show an inch of doubt or fear on his face. He raises his weapon and aims it at James.
"Let her go."
James barks out a laugh of amusement. "You really think it's that easy?" he shoots back, shoving the gun harder into my side. I cry out in pain, and he tightens his grip on my throat, squeezing his fingers into my neck.
"I'll take you out just like I took out your fucking goons," Marcus growls, anger flashing in his eyes.
"You think I give a damn about them?" James replies. "They're nothing to me. Nothing. I don't get attached. Not like you, Marcus."
Terror pulses through my body. I can't read Marcus's face. His expression seems distant, dark, like he's somewhere else entirely.
"You really think you can trust this bitch over your own family?" James begins to choke the air from my throat. "Come on, man. Look at how easy it was for her to fuck me over. She'll do the same to you, given the chance. She'll hurt you. She'll ruin you. And for what? So you can get some mediocre pussy?"
"Don't talk about her like that."
Marcus's voice is ice-cold now, so cold it sends a shiver down my spine. I claw at James's hand around my neck, but it's set tight. I can see dark shadows starting to swim in the corners of my vision now, what little strength left in me beginning to fade. I want to fight, I want to battle him, I want to tear him off of me, but he's too strong. The only person I can rely on is standing right there in front of me, and I have no idea if he's really going to have my back. Not when it comes down to it. We're talking family here, we're talking blood. Is he strong enough to go against that? Is what we have strong enough?
And then, through the haze, I see him. I'm not just looking at him, but I really see him. His sharp gaze catches mine, the intensity of it stilling everything for a moment. The world falls away, except for the way he's looking at me right now. And the look in his eyes, I know just what he's thinking, just what he's asking for.
He's asking me to fight.
I hear the gun cock, and James rams it into my side again. I drag in a shaky breath.
"Make your choice, Marcus," he growls.
Marcus gives me a slight nod. I draw my foot up and drive it down hard into James's knee. He lets out a yell, drawing away from me instinctively—giving Marcus just enough time to level the gun and take the shot.
"Isabella, move!" he screams at me. I lunge out of the way, covering my head with my hands, and I make it to the corner of the room just as the gunshot rings out and fills the air around us.
I hear it hit James with a sickening thud, driving itself into his guts. I can see the spray of arterial blood out of the corner of my eye, the noise of the gunshot ringing in my ears. Outside, the flock of birds from before has taken off again, shooting off into the graying sky above us.
James slides to his knees, a bubbling emerging from between his wordless lips, and then smashes onto the floor.
Dead.
I clasp my hands over my mouth, and Marcus rushes to me in the split second before I topple to the floor.
"Hey, hey, I've got you," he assures me, and he pulls me against him tight.
I bury my face in his shoulder. I can smell blood on him, that heavy, metallic scent, but as long as it's not his, I don't care. I wrap my arms around him and cling on to him for dear life, just breathing him in, just reminding myself he's alive. That we're both alive.
"I need to make sure the rest of the building is clear," he murmurs to me as he pulls back. "And then, we're getting out of here. Okay?"
"O-okay," I stutter back. I reach out for him as he heads for the door, almost wanting to ask him to stay, but I know he needs to do this. Just because I'm scarred and shaken and still hardly able to catch a breath, it doesn't mean that he has to risk our safety. He's right to clear this place, make sure there are no more of James's men lurking around, waiting to pounce on us.
And as I finally gather enough strength to look over at the man on the floor, it hits me—it really hits me.
This is over. James is dead. Whatever the Castellanos have been plotting against both of our families, it's taken a serious hit.
And that leaves room for me to finally consider how I feel about Marcus.
About the man who just risked it all to save my life.