He landed two more punches on me and I dropped to one knee.
I looked up at Kane. His eyes were glazed. There was no more excitement in his face. I thought about the guy with the tattoo. The one that had shot Endo. Skull X. All of this put in motion because of that guy. Because of a bigger situation I still hadn’t figured out yet.
Kane brought a fist back, thinking he had a chance at me.
To my right was the knife. I grabbed it and stood up, ramming it into his stomach. I grunted as I did, feeling his flesh give way to the sharp blade. I walked him back and pushed him into the crowd.
I then spun, drawing my gun.
That’s when the crowd broke up.
Kane collapsed and it seemed the entire event had become too damn real. Which worked to my benefit. I was able to see Winter, able to see Dmitry, able to see the guy with the tattoo. He was talking to Dmitry.
As the crowd cleared out of the warehouse, I ran toward the guy.
“Ray!” Dmitry yelled.
The guy - Ray - turned. Dmitry then shoved Ray forward, right into my range. I wasted no time in pulling the trigger. The gun went off and Ray spun and fell. I pointed the gun at Dmitry. He put his hands up. His bodyguards pulled out their weapons, but he called them off. He even kicked them out of the warehouse, leaving just me, him, and Winter. And Ray, on the floor, bleeding out.
I tossed the gun aside and ran to Winter. I tore at the tape at her hands, freeing her. Her face was in shock. She touched my face, her soft touch hurting like fire over my wounds, but it was the greatest pain I'd ever felt.
“Holy shit,” she whispered. “Tripp…”
“Fuck, darling,” I said. I kissed her.
My instincts told me to watch Dmitry.
I turned, putting Winter behind me. Dmitry stood with his hands out, like he wasn’t sure what to do next.
Ray put his head up and looked right at me.
“Aldo… he…”
Aldo?
I stepped toward Ray. I looked at him. It took all my nerve not to crush his face with my foot.
“Aldo…, “ he said again.
“What?” I asked.
“He paid me… fuck… he… paid…”
He paid me?
I crouched down and grabbed Ray’s shirt. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“He…”
Ray groaned and his head fell back and hit the ground.
He was dead.
I had killed him.
I killed the guy that killed Endo.
At least that was done.
And I had saved Winter.
The entire warehouse was empty now, everyone scattered and gone. Which meant all I had to do was face Dmitry and get Autumn. Then it would be all over. Done.
I turned my head and Dmitry stood behind me. There was a gun to my head. Another gun was in his other hand, pointed at Winter.
“Game over,” he said. “Game fucking over.”
36.
(Winter)
I saw Dmitry take out guns. It was so fast. He seemed confused, right up until Tripp went to check on the guy he shot. Dmitry pulled out two guns. One at Tripp’s head. One pointed at me.
“Who goes first?” Dmitry asked. “I’ll give you that much.”
“Thought we had a deal?” Tripp asked. “If I win the fight, I get Winter back. You got paid for it, right?”
“It was okay,” Dmitry said. “But you took away my after party fun. That’s where the real money is. Fuck with me, fuck with my crew, you eat a bullet.”
Slowly, Tripp started to stand. He showed his hands. He had no weapon. Neither did I. I thought about diving at him, taking the gunshot myself. If I distracted Dmitry, even for a second, it could be enough for Tripp to punch him and take him out.
“Winter, don’t move,” Tripp said.
“Get back on your knees,” Dmitry said to me. “You look better that way.”
“Take the gun off her,” Tripp said. “Let her go. She has nothing to do with this. This is you and me. I came to you.”
“Yeah,” Dmitry said. “And how did she get here?”
I watched Tripp grit his teeth. Everything had been happening so fast, he hadn’t a chance to process my presence there.
Tripp looked at me. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I…”
“Never challenge Skull X,” Dmitry said. “You don’t know our power and our purpose. We control everything.”
“Just let him go,” I said. “He did what you wanted.”
“Shut up,” Dmitry said. “The deal was easy with Endo. And now it’s gone. That means…”
“Don’t say it,” Tripp said.
“Say what?” I asked.
Dmitry smiled again. “Oh, this is just too fucking fun.” He looked at me. “That bitch Andrea, dead. That little kid with her, dead.”
“Autumn?”
“No more,” Dmitry said. “It was worth my time when Endo was alive. I asked for money, I got it. I asked for a hit, I got it. I asked for control, I got it. Hell, who do you think helped me to set up my own fights? His old man wasn’t taking care of him so he wandered. And he spent money. So I have to take a hit on my business. I don’t like that.”
“Don’t kill them!” I cried out. “Kill me instead. Let them go.”