Chapter Nineteen #2
As he swung for me, I feinted to the side and sunk my blade into the meaty portion of his shoulder.
He yelled out, jerking away, and I lost my grip on the handle.
Not one to be wrong-footed for long, I righted myself and slammed my elbow into his already battered face.
When he crumpled forward, I snatched my knife and yanked it free before stabbing it back down.
This time I was on target, a sickening gurgling noise escaping him as I severed his windpipe.
A man I didn’t even see through the chaos grabbed me. I thrashed against him, grunting with pain as he drove his knee into my stomach. I was winded, my vision tunnelling briefly. I felt the handle of my knife slip away once again, landing on the floor with a loud clatter. Fuck, where was—
A punch landed against my cheekbone and pain exploded through my eye socket.
Before I’d had a chance to regain my composure, my assailant was on top of me.
I felt his hands grasp my neck, squeezing me.
My fingers flew to his grip, clawing at him.
He was strong. I couldn’t get him off. Just as panic gripped me, a gunshot exploded.
In an instant, the man on top of me slumped and fell to the floor.
I sat up, coughing and spluttering. Aaron stood a short distance away, gun still held aloft, the barrel smoking lightly.
“You took your time,” I spluttered, voice coarse.
“Sorry, I was a tad pre-occupied,” he muttered, jerking his chin to where two more thugs lay dead. “Are you alright?”
I let him grab me by my elbow, heaving me up to my feet.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s—”
Two more gunshots exploded, leaving my ears ringing. I gasped, glancing between Aaron and the two thugs that had rounded the corner. He’d nailed both of them.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I figured the element of surprise was ruined, so might as well make things a bit easier, yeah?”
“Who are you?” I teased, snatching my gun from my holster. “We’ve been spending too much time together.”
“I’m not sure there’s such a thing.”
“Oh, you’re smooth. If we live, you are so getting it later,” I chuckled as we jogged down the corridor. I glanced at the men Aaron had killed. “Nice shot, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
I put my boot through a door, gun raised as I scoured the room. Flashbacks of my time in E Squadron came rushing back. How many times had I moved through a building this way? I didn’t dare try to guess.
“Clear,” I shouted.
Aaron moved on without my instruction, opening the next. He ducked inside, just as I had done before calling out.
“Clear.”
“Another two incoming. The heat signals are moving fast now. I think your cover is blown,” Freddie said.
“Keep an eye on the exits. I don’t care about the Tren de Cobra bastards, but if Keller tries to make a run for it, I want to know.”
I didn’t hear Freddie’s reply, firing off two rounds – one each for the two men that had approached. This time it was Aaron’s turn to pause by the bodies.
“You’re not a bad shot either.”
“Not bad?!” I gaped. “You take that back! I’m a fantastic shot.”
“I mean, I’ve seen better.”
A cackle burst from me as we sprinted to the end of the hallway and through a doorway into a stairwell. “Alright, tough guy. Let’s see who comes out on top, hm? What’s that? Three kill shots for you and two for me?” I said, breathless as we took the stairs two at a time.
“Are you seriously keeping count?” Aaron argued.
“I am now, yeah. Whoever nails the most bad guys gets one wish when this is all over. Anything they want. Deal?”
A door flew open and Aaron raised his gun. He fired, the noise of it exploding around the concrete stairwell. The man fell to a heap on the ground.
“Four. You’d better get your arse into gear if you want to win.”
To my surprise, he smacked his hand against my behind as he passed me, hard enough to leave the skin beneath stinging. My mouth fell open.
“Oh, it’s fucking on!”
We made our way through the building in a sea of gunfire and blood spray. Whether he’d meant to do so or not, Aaron had lit a fire beneath me and I fought on, keen to beat him at our bloodthirsty little game. I loved a challenge.
“Ten,” I gasped, ducking behind an overturned table for cover as I reloaded. We both flinched as the two thugs at the other end of the room peppered the room with bullets. Taking advantage of a brief ceasefire, Aaron sprung from his cover, gun firing.
Bang, bang!
“Clear.”
I rolled out from my hiding spot, leaping to my feet as we dashed to the next room.
“And that was eleven, by the way,” he crowed behind me.
“You fucking jammy— Alright, laugh it up. The night is still young,” I grumbled.
Aaron and I had mown our way through wave after wave of Tren de Cobra associates, but there was still no sign of Keller.
I was beginning to grow uneasy, cold dread gripping me.
If the kingpin managed to give us the slip again, that really would be the end of the road for me.
For all of us. Failure wasn’t an option.
“Fuck,” Freddie growled in my ear. “Keller. He’s at the back of the building. A CCTV camera has just caught him and three other men leaving through a fire exit.”
“No!” I roared, firing my gun at a thug as he ran at me. Eleven – now we were even. “Keep eyes on him, Relay. We cannot lose him again.”
“Got it. The stairwell at the back of the building is your best shot at catching up with him,” he instructed. “There’s a courtyard to the rear. It’s bordered by a chain-link fence and locked up tight.”
“And Keller?” I gasped, sprinting for the stairwell. Behind us, another door opened, slamming against the wall. Three more Tren de Cobra members.
“Go, go!” Aaron shouted, raising his gun. “I’ll catch up.”
I nodded, not hesitating. As I jumped down the stairs, I heard gunfire explode.
“Twelve, thirteen, fourteen… Fuck, that bastard is going to win,” I muttered beneath my breath.
“Left here, third door on the right,” Freddie instructed. “Keller and those men are trapped in the courtyard, but they won’t be for much longer. They’ve found a rusted section and are almost through it.”
I gritted my teeth, skidding as I sprinted for the door Freddie had pointed out. My heart pounded in my ears, blood rushing. I couldn’t let him get away. Not again.
I kicked open the fire exit door, startling the men.
My eyes locked on Keller amongst them and I raised my gun.
I was a fraction too slow and as they opened fire, I dove behind a dumpster.
Bullets twanged, clattering all around as they ricochetted off the metal bin.
There were too many of them. As one paused to reload, another took over shooting.
These were no street thugs, they were well trained.
“Aaron. Three men, plus Keller,” I muttered into my mic. “They’re special hires. They’ve got me locked down. I can’t return fire.”
“On my way!” came the breathless reply.
“No! They’ll shoot you!”
This time Aaron didn’t respond. Just as I began to wonder if he’d heard me, a window shattered above me.
I cried out, hunching into a ball as glass rained down.
The gunfire faltered, my assailants distracted.
There was a deafening thud as something landed on the dumpster above me.
I didn’t have time to think about it. I rolled out from my hiding spot and fired.
Bang, bang, bang!