I stared at someone lying motionless. Blood seeped out from under him, staining the sidewalk below. There were people hiding behind various objects, including a couple of kids ducking behind a car, and all she had to say was I was right?
“We have to get out of here!”
“Or,” a slow smirk spread across her face, “we could have some fun.”
Oh God, no.
“Fun!? This is not fun.”
A dark glint sparked across Ava’s face as she narrowed her gaze and revved the engine.
“Don’t you dare!” I screamed out, hoping to break whatever crazy crap she had going on in her mind. But it was too late.
The car shot forward and two of the armed men looked our way. The first one cocked his head in confusion, while the other spun around and started firing. A hail of bullets cut through the car, bouncing off metal and shattering the windshield. And what did Ava do? She called out in ecstatic joy, slapped the roof of her BMW, and pressed harder on the gas.
This is it. This was how I was going to die. I always knew Ava would drag me to an early grave, and I didn’t even get a chance to wear my new Louis Vuitton’s.
Chapter 5
Chase
“God damnit.” Mannix yelled through the hail of gunfire raining down on us.
Two more reapers had shown up and were flanking us from inside the restaurant. Tanner was still pinned down behind the car. The kids with him were crying, and their mother was lying on the ground. I didn’t see any blood, though, so hopefully she just passed out.
Right now, I was more worried about the two fuckers in the restaurant. If they could make it to one of the windows, they’d have a clear shot at both Mannix and I, hence why my soul focus was on that building. Every time I saw movement, I popped off a round, pushing them further back. Back up wouldn’t get here for another ten minutes; problem was, I didn’t think we had that long.
“Fuck this shit,” Mannix growled and rolled away, kicking another table over.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I asked, while taking another shot at the building. I knew that look in his eyes. It usually meant he was about to do something stupid. Like run head first into the building. “I’m not dragging your body out.”
He pressed his back up against the table, took a few deep breaths and said, “You won’t have to,” before diving through one of the restaurant’s windows. One of these days, that prick was going to run out of lives. A few seconds later, I heard Mannix curse, followed by a chair flying through one of the glass windows.
Son of a bitch. Looks like we’re going in.
I popped a new clip in my 9mm and muttered, “Motherfucker.”
Once I was reloaded and ready to go, I prepared to roll my way closer. Three words stopped me.
“What the fuck?”
I craned my neck and looked back at Tanner in time to see a BMW barrel down the road, taking out one of the Reapers in the street. His body rolled over the hood of the car, slamming down on the road behind, and I swear I heard a chick yell, “Woo-hoo. Ten points.”
It felt like I was in one of those action movies where the scene slowed down. Everything seemed to go still. I couldn’t hear the wind or bullets cutting through the air. All I could do was watch as the car continued down the road, only to turn in a squealing spin and come back. This time it took out two, and I say two because if I didn’t know any better, I’d say the driver aimed for the reaper on the ground. Tanner and I both grimaced at the sickly, wet, crunching of her tires rolling over his prone body.
“Damn,” Tanner’s wide eyes met mine. “Did you see that shit?”
I didn’t just see that shit, I fucking felt it. Instead of saying that to him, I tipped my chin at the BMW. It was parked down the road, hood aimed at the last standing Reaper. I could see the hesitation and confusion on his face, as his finger twitched on the trigger of his pistol. Can’t say I blamed him. Don’t think I’d know what to do in a stare down with a car either. Do you shoot? Do you run?
The engine revved loudly through the air, making all color drain from the Reaper’s face.
Run definitely.
Tanner apparently agreed because he yelled out, “Run, fucker,” as the car shot down the street.
The prick jumped to attention running for the Chinese laundry, to seek shelter I assumed. Apparently the driver didn’t care. He barley stepped through the door when the BMW twisted and drove right into the front of the building. Sending a hail of wood, stone and broken glass onto the street.
Everything went quiet. Deathly so, as Tanner stared at each other. We didn’t have to speak to know what was going through the other’s mind. Do we move, or stay where we are to avoid becoming the next targets? I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped when the sign above the door dropped down and crashed on the hood.
