“Revenge.” Damian said the word like it had filled his mouth with poison. “Trust me. I understand it all too well. It won’t bring you anything, Victor. It’s an empty promise. Walk away and—”
“Enough chit chat!” Victor barked. “Which one goes first? Her?” He pointed the gun at me. “Or her?” I started trembling when he trained it on Sierra. The stakes were too high. Damian couldn’t risk attacking him, not when he had us both at his mercy.
“Take me.” Damian put his hands up and got down on his knees. “Right here, right now. Pump as many bullets into me as you like. You don’t really want them.”
Icy fear tightened around my heart. He meant every word. Damian was willing to lay down his life for Sierra and me. He wanted to do it. He was blaming himself for bringing this down on us. If he’d stayed away, Sierra and I wouldn’t be here.
Maybe someday I’ll be the hero that you and your mama deserve.
“Witnesses are messy, Damian. You’re all dead anyway,” said Victor. “Choose. Or I’ll choose for you.”
My heart started pounding erratically as fearful images flashed through my mind.
“What do you do, Skye?” Damian’s voice pulled me out of the downward spiral.
I fight back and I fight hard.
I raised the syringe I was holding and plunged it into Victor’s thigh. He screamed and let go of me. Damian moved at the same time, knocking him off his feet. Victor pulled the syringe out of his flesh, and got up, still holding the gun. Damian stood like a shield between him and me. I knew what he was planning to do.
“Don’t,” I said.
He did it anyway—threw himself straight at Victor. The gun went off, but Damian deflected Victor’s hand so it zinged to the ceiling. The two men crashed through the doorway and fell on the railing that opened to the foyer below. It was dark, but I could make out their forms, grappling for control. Victor still had the gun, but with one arm paralyzed, he was no match for Damian. He lost his grip and it fell below. Damian punched him. Hard. Twice in the gut. Victor doubled over. When he straightened, he was holding another gun.
“I always carry a spare.” He smirked, but the pain in his gut made him flinch when he tried to move. “I think we’ve wasted enough time, don’t you? Kneel. Both of you!”
He was standing at the top of the stairs, facing the room.
“Her first, then you, then the kid,” he said to Damian.
He had it worked out so that any which way, Damian had something to lose. As long as he kept his gun trained on me, he knew Damian wouldn’t try anything. Once he shot me, he’d still have Sierra as leverage.
Damian and I held hands as we knelt. I don’t know when I started crying, but tears were spilling down my cheeks. It had started here, and this is where it was going to end. All three of us in one night.
“Please don’t hurt her,” I begged Victor. “She’s just a little girl.”
“She’s lucky. She’ll go in her sleep,” he replied.
Damian’s fingers squeezed around mine, so tight that I thought my bones would crack. It was the only way he could hold himself back from ripping Victor’s throat. If he went for him, he risked losing me, but if he waited, he risked losing Sierra.
“On five, Damian,” I whispered.
His eyes widened a fraction.
5 . . .
We were going to do this together. No matter what happened to the two of us, we were going to make sure Sierra remained unharmed.
4 . . .
Victor aimed the gun at my head.
3 . . .
I love you, Estebandido. Always you. Only you.
2 . . .
I love you, güerita. Don’t be afraid. Love don’t die.
The gun went off before we moved. My eyes squeezed shut at the deafening bang. I waited for the pain that was sure to follow.
It never came.
Fuck!!!!!!!!!!
He’d shot Damian.
My soul felt an agony so deep, the bullet might as well have ripped through it. Damian’s hand was still in mine, so warm, so real. The pain was so raw that I gasped, forgetting, for a moment, the simple act of how to breathe. A part of me wanted to die right then.
Shoot me. Shoot me now.
But the other part, the part that was a mother, refused to surrender.