Chapter 14 - Caught in the Crossfire
The explosion lit up the docks like midday.
Marcone’s gunmen were thrown across the pavement, disoriented and screaming as burning debris rained down into the water. Adrian seized the moment, rising like a vengeance demon through the smoke, firing with terrifying precision until the remaining shooters were silenced.
“Maya!” Adrian’s voice roared through the smoke. “Maya!”
I pushed myself up from behind the control station, coughing against the acrid chemical smoke. “I’m here! I’m—”
A figure lunged out of the haze.
Dominic.
His face was streaked with soot, his eyes wild with terror and rage. He grabbed me by the throat, hauling me backward toward the edge of the pier, his pistol pressed against my temple.
“Hold your fire, Voss!” Dominic screamed into the night. “Drop the gun or I blow her head off and dump her in the lake!”
Adrian stepped out of the smoke.
He lowered his rifle, but his eyes were black as midnight. A vein pulsed violently in his neck. “Let her go, Dominic. You walk away. That’s the only deal you get tonight.”
“You’re lying!” Dominic spat, his grip on my neck choking off my air. “You kill everyone who betrays you! She dies first!”
My vision blurred. The pistol barrel was freezing cold against my skin.
*Point, squeeze, don't hesitate.*
My right hand, hidden beneath the folds of the oversized tactical vest, closed around the small semi-automatic pistol in my waistband.
I didn't aim at his chest. I couldn't reach it.
I stomped down on Dominic’s foot with all the force of my combat boot, driving the heel into his instep. He hissed in pain, his grip loosening for a fraction of a second.
I drove my elbow back into his ribs, drew the weapon, and fired straight down into his kneecap.
*BANG.*
Dominic shrieked, collapsing to the wet asphalt, clutching his shattered leg.
Before he could raise his weapon, a single shot rang out from Adrian’s gun. Dominic fell silent, slumping motionless against the edge of the pier.
I stood there, the gun trembling violently in my hands, smoke drifting from the barrel.
Adrian was beside me in an instant. He kicked Dominic’s weapon into the dark water below, swept my gun from my shaking fingers, and pulled me violently against his chest.
“It’s over,” he rasped into my hair, his arms trembling as he held me. “It’s over, Maya.”
That was when I felt the warm, sticky wetness seeping through his shirt onto my cheek.
I pulled back in horror. “Adrian... you’re shot.”
A dark crimson stain was spreading across his right side, just beneath his ribs where a ricocheted round had torn through his armor.
His legs gave way.
May you like
“Adrian!” I screamed, catching him as he collapsed against the metal container, sliding down to the blood-slicked ground.
***