Chapter Forty
Victoria
Rich, Az, Joey, and Craig exited the SUV, leaving the doors open for cover before I could argue. Leighton slithered over the seat, flopping beside me, and gently kissed me on the cheek.
"Do what Az said, ma petit. Stay put while we deal with this." He said before slipping out of the vehicle to stand beside Joey.
I gripped the back of the front seats, watching as people poured out of the cars blocking the road before us. The guys were already outnumbered by at least three to one. I was terrified about how high that number might actually go if I looked around.
"What are you doing running with mercs, Candy?" Craig called out, his tone strangely friendly. "The Jackals can't do their own dirty work these days?"
"We don't have to do this, Craig. Hand over the Bristol girl and we'll let you walk away for old time's sake." A female voice called back.
"Not a fucking snowball's chance in hell," Az replied.
Against my better judgment, I took that moment to risk turning in my seat to look around. My stomach clenched as I realized there was no way we were walking out of this intact. Even with the doors for cover, there were dozens of armed men and women on each side of the SUV and at least twenty more to the rear.
"I didn't want it to come to this," the woman called out, pushing to the front of the group of armed men in black body armor to the front of the SUV. Her long brown hair was braided down the sides of her head, and tattoos covered every inch of visible skin. "I hoped what we shared in the past would be enough for you to have some sense of respect and hand the girl over. Hell, maybe we could have even picked up where we left off once the dust settled."
"We ended for a reason, Candy," Craig replied.
"A girl can dream," Candy shrugged, motioning to one of the men in the black body armor beside her. "Damien, if you would. Try to keep them alive so we can decide who to take in."
She melted back into the people surrounding her just as the mercenary grinned viciously.
"Leighton, good to see you, buddy," Damien called out as he stepped forward. "I've learned some new techniques during a trip to Kazakhstan."
"We're not buddies, Damien," Leighton called back. "And that's plenty close where you are."
Damien laughed and took another step forward. Rich responded with a warning shot that echoed loudly in the SUV and caused my ears to ring.
"Ah, come on now, bud. You're outnumbered and outgunned. There's only one way this ends." Damien called out. "Do you think it's the best idea to waste what few shots you have on warnings ?"
"Fucking hell, Rich." Leighton hissed. "Just take the bastard out."
My eyes widened as Joey raised his gun and took aim over the top of the door. The muffled thud of a body hitting the pavement told me he'd hit his mark.
"Rich, if you're gonna pull the trigger around people like these , you kill someone with the shot." Joey snapped.
Several shots popped off from behind us, the bullets dinging loudly against the armored SUV.
"Yeah, well, I was trying to avoid exactly this." Rich retorted as more of the crowd began to fire on us.
"Good chance this was happening either way. At least now we don't have to deal with the sicko." Az clipped.
"Good riddance to him!" Leighton called, firing off shots toward our attackers. "Pretty sure he literally ate a baby once."
"Can we focus, Leighton! I don't think now is the best time for your exaggerations." Craig snarked. "We're in the middle of a fucking fire fight, at the center of a god damned kill box."
"Eh, seems like they're mostly shit shots." Leighton replied as bullets continued to bounce off the SUV. "With as many of them as there are, one of us should have taken a hit by now."
Seconds later, Leighton gave a pained grunt, and his free hand was pressed to his shoulder. I clapped my hands over my mouth to suppress the scream that wanted to break free as blood pooled under his hand and spread through the fabric of his shirt.
"You were saying?!" Az yelled, firing back.
"Lucky shot!" Leighton groaned.
"Bunny, in my bag." Craig barked into the vehicle. "There are some medical supplies; grab them. Leighton, let her wrap that wound before you lose enough blood that arm is useless."
Leighton slid into the SUV beside me, gritting his teeth in pain as I tore through the bags stacked in the third row. The first one I found had mainly weapons, and I held a hand grenade up in shock.
"Oh, perfect." Leighton chuckled, snatching it out of my hand and slipping from the vehicle before I could say anything. "Got something to thin the herd, boys, cover your fucking ears."
" Another god damned grenade?!" Rich yelled. "How is it you have one every time ?"
"Well, obviously. It pays to be prepared." Leighton answered.
I saw the small object sail through the air toward the crowd at our rear seconds later. On instinct, I covered my ears. Leighton slid back into the SUV beside me, his fingers plugging his ears, just as the grenade exploded. The sheer amount of damage the small device had done was so overwhelming it left me too stunned to scream. I blinked my eyes rapidly, my brain trying to make sense of the sudden carnage.
" Ma petit , my shoulder," Leighton said, pulling me back to the task. "Quickly, if you don't mind. I think I just pissed the rest of them off blowing up their friends."
I tore through the rest of the duffle bags like my life depended on it, clothing, and various odds and ends flying around the inside of the car as I tossed them aside.
"Yes!" I cheered to myself as I finally got my hands on a package of gauze and a roll of medical tape.
"Uh, L… If you got another grenade, that would be handy right about now." Joey called out as I worked to bandage Leighton's shoulder. "We're running out of ammo here and these folks seem real keen on drawing blood."
I watched as Leighton peered through the windshield before whipping his head from side to side to take in our left and right as I finished wrapping his shoulder the best I could.
"Shit. Hold on!" He yelled, climbing over the center row into the back. "Where is it, where is it?"
He ferreted through the chaos I'd left behind and let out a whoop before he resurfaced with something in his hand. Without a word, he threw himself back over the center row and thrust his hand out the door toward Joey.
"Here!"
Joey looked at whatever Leighton had handed him, pulled something from it, and threw it as hard as he could toward the group to our left. Pink smoke filled the side street before it even hit the ground.
"What the fuck! Leighton, that was not helpful!" Joey yelled.
"Shit, sorry!" Leighton replied as he threw himself back in the third row. "Their visibility is down at least. That has to count for something."
"The one time we could really use you blowing something up and you're not ready?" Rich scoffed as he fired once more into the crowd, his gun clicking with the second trigger pull. "I'm out, what do we have to work with, Leighton? We're kind of counting on your crazy ass to get us out of this mess right now."
"I'm working on it!" Leighton snarled. "Just let me fucking think for a second!"
"I'm out too! Tell me you got something back there, man!" Az yelled.
I watched as Leighton's face lit up; his hand raised in triumph as he held an expensive-looking bottle of scotch. "I do! Thank you for being a bougie bitch that packs booze in his go-bag, Az!"
"If we live, you owe me a new bottle!" Az shouted.
"If we live, I'll buy you the fucking distillery that makes it, you snob!" Leighton responded, handing the bottle to me. "Open this for me, lover-muffin."
I did as he asked, watching as he grabbed one of Az's expensive shirts and tore it into strips. Leighton snatched the bottle back and began stuffing them into the bottleneck, tipping it slightly to encourage the alcohol to soak them through. Winking at me, he clambered back out of the SUV and stuck his hand down Joey's pocket.
"What the fuck man," Joey shouted.
"Oh, shut up, I just want your zippo you fucking firebug." Leighton shot back as he pulled the zippo in question free. I scrunched my face in confusion. I hadn't known Joey even had one, let alone that it was common enough knowledge among the guys for Leighton to immediately stick his hands down the man's pants for it.
"Hurry up , Leighton! I'm out too!" Craig yelled.
"Which side do you want me to aim for? Make it count, cuz this is it, boys." Leighton replied.
"Well, usually you take off the head, and these fucking snakes die; aim for the front." Az barked out.
Leighton raced to the front of the SUV, and I watched in horror as he left himself fully exposed. He didn't stop like I thought he would; instead, he cleared half the distance between us and the forward group of attackers. I heard the pop of shots firing off as Joey worked to provide him with strategic cover fire. My heart was thudding in my throat, threatening to burst completely free of my chest, when Leighton finally stopped moving, lit the strips of cloth on fire, and cocked his arm back. He threw the bottle with so much force that his body bent slightly forward and stumbled a few steps. Time seemed to slow as I watched the scotch bottle sail through the air.
"Good news, this side seems to be out of ammo!" Craig called out from my right, causing me to tear my eyes away from the scene through the windshield. "At least that means we stand a fucking chance, even if it means we're about to get rushed for some hand-to-hand.
As he finished speaking, he climbed into the SUV beside me and slammed the door, locking it. Az did the same in the front passenger seat before both moved to climb out of the vehicle on the left side.
"I didn't get as many as I wanted with that makeshift Molotov cocktail." Leighton's voice rang out nearby.
My body sagged with relief hearing him so close. My relief was short-lived as the guys all shared a look before Rich slammed the front door closed.
"Whatever happens, Sweetheart, don't get out of this fucking car," Joey said, dipping his head inside. "Get in the front seat, lock these two doors, and if shit goes south, run these motherfuckers down. Do you understand?"
My eyes burned as he gave me those instructions. It sounded… very much like a set of final instructions, and I didn't want to hear it. I tried to blink back the tears, but that only caused them to fall.
"Don't say it like that. You're getting back in this car when it's over." I snapped.
"Sweetheart–"
"No! You're getting back in this car when it's over. Promise !" I felt my voice get shrill as it raised. The sounds of gunfire were the backdrop of my panic despite them mostly coming to an end. Joey looked at me sadly.
"Lock the doors." He said before dipping back out and slamming them closed.
"Joey!" I screamed. He didn't promise me anything, and there was a voice in the back of my mind that told me it was a promise he couldn't guarantee he would be able to keep even if he had. I scrambled to the driver's seat and locked the doors, staring out the windows wide-eyed.
Fear, anger, and a feeling of uselessness had me in a chokehold as the boys– my boys–stood back-to-back to face the fucking mob of people that had surrounded us. It seemed like everyone was just sizing each other up. I could see Joey and Leighton fist-bump each other, and the urge to slap them both upside the head made me cry even harder.
Leighton slid a blade free from somewhere I couldn't see before reaching his hand out and making a ‘come here' motion toward the group in front of them. I couldn't make out anything he said as he did, but the muffled sound of his voice was enough to tell me he was clearly goading them. Not wanting to watch as our attackers broke the temporary stalemate, rushing toward my men, I frantically began searching the SUV for a phone. It was a miracle the police hadn't already arrived, but if I could just find a phone, I could call for help. We'd deal with the legal consequences later.
The SUV rocked as someone slammed into the side, and my eyes widened in horror as I took in Az pinned against the vehicle. Adrenaline poured into my system, and I reached for the handle, intending to launch myself from it, if necessary, before the man landing brutal blows to Az's face was ripped away. I saw Leighton, covered in blood, take his place.
"Do NOT open that fucking door, Victoria!" Az shouted at me without turning around before he pushed off the SUV.
His tone was harsh enough to make me jerk my hand back from the door handle. I watched for a moment, my body trembling violently from the adrenaline coursing through my veins, before returning to my search for a phone. Coming up empty in the front, I climbed to the third row, hoping like hell I'd find a phone tucked into an unsearched pocket of one of the guys' duffle bags.
I looked out the window at some motion that caught my attention and watched as Rich palmed one of our attacker's faces and slammed his head into the concrete hard enough that it had to have killed him. A thought that was confirmed when he didn't move at all, his lifeless eyes rolled back. Rich moved on to pick up another man who had Joey pinned to the ground. He wrenched the man's head to the side sharply and dropped his body when Leighton ran up to him with a wide grin on his face. Rich's responding look said all I needed to know about the fact that Leighton had said something entirely out of pocket. I laughed, the sound coming out panicked even to my ears.
Taking a quick survey, it looked like my guys had nearly the playing field. I felt like I could breathe a little easier knowing that. Even though they were clearly tiring, the fact they'd eliminated so many people with ease gave me hope. My hands clasped together as I watched them work as a unit. If I hadn't been watching so closely, I would have missed the woman who slipped from the rear of the SUV, the dying sunlight glinting off of something in her hand. In three quick steps, she was behind Rich, and I couldn't stop myself when I saw the knife plunge into his lower back.
Launching myself over the center row in a move that would make Leighton proud, I clicked the door unlocked and ripped it open. A guttural scream tore from my lips as I pulled the switchblade he'd given me from my pocket and flipped it open, launching myself at the woman's back. All five of the guys turned toward the sound of my screaming slowly, as if time had only moved for me at that moment. I collided hard with the woman's back, causing her to slam on the ground, her chin bouncing off the pavement. I didn't think. I didn't hesitate. I plunged my knife into the back of her neck with a strength and ferocity that was usually only seen in mothers lifting cars off their children.
Time started moving again, and the sound roared in my ears, the sound overwhelming. I put my hands over them to shut it out and looked up, seeking out my guys. Rich moved as if to take a step toward me and stopped, all five turning slowly. Behind them stood Candy and six armed men holding guns at my guys at point-blank range.
"Wonderful performance." Candy smiled as she clapped. "But futile."
She jerked her head, and one of the armed men moved to step around the guys. Rich stepped in front of me as the man approached and growled low in his chest.
"Get up, Babygirl. Get up and start running. If we get out of this scrape, we'll find you." He said, not looking at me. I stared at his back as I stood slowly but couldn't move my feet. His light gray t-shirt was slowly turning red as the wound bled freely, starting to drip from the fabric.
Rich advanced on the man that was approaching us. He moved faster than a man who'd been stabbed should be able to, coming up in front of Candy's goon and knocking his gun to the side before he was able to get a shot off. He landed a hard punch to the man's face, which sent him reeling back a few steps. The man recovered quickly, rolling his neck.
Candy sighed loudly. "If you're gonna do this, Declan, make it fucking snappy. Some of us have places to be."
Our assailant nodded and grinned at Rich. Rich swung for him again, but the other man moved quickly and grasped his fist between his arm and torso. He twisted himself around and landed a harsh kick to Rich's gut. Rich grunted but grabbed the man by the ankle before he could pull his leg back. He growled with the strain as he picked the lackey up off the ground and lifted him to his eye level before slamming him into the concrete. The other man screamed, the sickening cracking sound of bones breaking accompanying the thud of his body into the ground. Rich leaned down and grabbed the gun from our assailant's holster, pointed it at his head, and pulled the trigger.
The sound of the gunshot made me jump, and I came fully back to the moment, realizing that I was supposed to be running. I turned and started to move, running nearly face-first into a smiling Candy.
"Well, hi there, sweetheart." She said brightly before grabbing me by the hair and pulling me close. She turned me around, and I heard a gun cocking right by my ear. "I don't think we've ever officially met."
"Don't fucking call me Sweetheart." I snapped, struggling against her hold.
"Aww, don't be like that, gorgeous." She crooned, walking me forward until we were a solid six feet away from the guys. "If you boys don't mind. I'd hate to put a bullet through this pretty lady's head. Go on and get on your knees for me, now, so I don't have to do that."
Rich turned to face us, his eyes widening as he took in the situation.
"Shoot her, Rich!" I yelled.
"Ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you, big guy," Candy said, clucking her tongue in her mouth. "She's a nice payday, but not one I'm willing to risk getting shot over, so go ahead and put it down. Let's all be civil here."
Rich sneered at Candy for a moment before his eyes swept over me. I watched in horror as his face fell, and he tossed the gun away from himself, put his hands up, and fell to his knees.
"That's a good boy." Candy crooned.
I watched as my other four guys were shoved forward roughly and dropped to their knees beside Rich. The five remaining thugs with Candy moved into position behind them the second they were on the ground and placed the barrel of their guns to the backs of my guys' heads. Candy released her hold on me and paced in front of my men.
"Now, see. I have orders to bring the girl and one of you in alive. The rest are supposed to be in body bags." she said, tapping her chin as she paced, "But who to pick. They all look so good in a row like this, it would be impossible to choose."
"Shoot me and take the rest in alive," Rich offered, his eyes finding mine. "I'm so fucking sorry, Babygirl."
"No can do, big man." Candy shrugged. "But I have the most delightful idea. How about each of you make a speech to the pretty lady here, and then she picks." Candy clapped her free hand against the one holding the gun. "It's like a high-stakes version of the Bachelorette. Since you're so keen to speak, why don't you go first, Rich."
"Don't you pick me, Babygirl. I… I don't deserve it for how I hurt you. Pick someone who was honest with how they loved you. If I could have, I would have spent the rest of my life making it up to you. I'm so fucking sorry for being too stubborn. Too stupid to just… I love you, Victoria. And if I could go back, I'd have told you so much sooner… I was so caught up in my own bullshit, I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I wish more than anything I could take it all back. That we could start over at the beginning and I could do it right. I need you to know that. I might have been a better man with you, if we'd had the chance. If I'd given us the chance. But I'm serious, don't you pick me, Baby."
Silent tears started rolling down my face as I looked him in the eye, and the words poured out of him. My heart squeezed in my chest, and a sob escaped my lips. I looked at Candy, shaking my head.
"I can't do this. I can't choose between them. I love each of them. I can't do it. I won't." I said, my voice broke as I cried.
Candy frowned at me momentarily before turning her attention back to Rich. In one smooth motion, the man behind him stepped away, and Candy raised her gun, pulling the trigger. I screamed as Rich's lifeless body fell backward under the impact of the gunshot, blood pooling from the bullet wound between his eyes. My legs buckled, and I fell to my knees.
"Last chance. Choose, or I'll do it for you."