Page 70 of Midnight Wedding

“Where?”

“Place called Beauty Queens. It’s in some strip mall in the suburbs. She’s there on Tuesdays.”

“That’s very helpful, Cousin.”

He looks relieved. “Just don’t tell her it was me, okay? I don’t want her to know.”

“Don’t worry.” I lean in close so he can see my smile. “It won’t matter either way.”

I pull the trigger. His body jerks as the bullet rips into his chest and tears a hole in his heart. His mouth opens in shock and blood pours from the wound. I shove him away and he slumps sideways.

“Arsen!” Tigran’s voice from up front. “Hey, fuck, incoming!”

I rush into the main store. My brother’s standing beside the door with his gun drawn. The guys behind the counter both look terrified and one’s on the phone, probably calling the cops.

Outside, three men in black ski masks are stalking toward the entrance.

I grab Tigran and yank him away. The woman near the soda machine screams as we barrel past. We step over Vahagn’s corpse and I try to kick open one of the bathrooms, but it doesn’t budge.

“No other way out,” Tigran says sounding grim.

The door opens with the tinkle of a bell.

I take the lead. The women start running as the masked men storm into the place. I rush behind them and use them as a distraction. One of the men starts shooting first and hits the woman coming toward him in the leg. She shrieks and drops as the other keeps going. I roll to the side and start shooting low, skidding to a halt before I slam into the front counter. The shooter gets hit in the thigh and the stomach, screaming in pain. As he falls, I get off one good shot and hit him inthe forehead, killing him instantly. The injured woman screams bloody murder as she crawls across the floor in a pool of blood and pain.

Tigran’s behind me. He takes down another of the masked men, splattering his brains across the two employees. They’re both standing in total shock, the dumb fucks. They should be down on the goddamn floor.

That leaves one more attacker. I don’t see him right away. I gesture for Tigran to move left while I cross the front of the store in a slow crouch.

Gunshots blare. I barely drop in time as bullets rip past me and kill one of the workers. He goes down in a spray of blood as ugly holes are torn into his face and neck.

I return fire. I don’t even need to see where I’m shooting. My bullets rip into snacks and chip bags, sending food and debris flying. There’s a satisfying scream of pain followed by an ugly wet gurgle.

The last attacker is down. He’s got three holes in his chest oozing bubbling blood. I kneel on his chest and rip off his mask.

I recognize the fucker. One of Aunt Sona’s guys. “How’d you know we were here?” I snarl in his face.

His chest makes a terrible rattling sound as he drowns on his own blood. “Fuck you, Arsen.”

I shoot him in the face. It’s a fucking mercy.

The store is a mess. One employee’s dead and the other’s on the ground begging for his life. The woman that got shot is dragging herself to the door and moaning in pain.

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” I tell her as I walk past.

Tigran catches up with me. “That was an ambush,” he says grimly as we hurry to the car. The sound of sirens blares in the distance.

“They were either following us or they were following Vahagn.”

“Did he give you a location?”

“He did, but I’m not sure how much I can trust it now.”

“Do we have much of a choice?”

I shake my head. He’s got a point. If we’re going to end this war quickly, I have to take some risks.

I can’t be afraid to get my hands a little dirty in the process.

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