Page 24 of The Honeymoon Heist

She leapt up the steps, took a look around, recognized where she was, and started running to the right, toward the gallery.

She found the same street her family had trod the day before, saw the courtyard, then the door. She tried to enter, but was stopped by security outside.

She looked behind her, seeing her captors crest the stairs a hundred meters away. She said, “My parents are in there. Please, let me in.”

The guard was unmoved by her plea, saying, “I’m sorry. Invitation only.”

She glanced back, saw the men closing in on her and said, “Please! Let me in!”

“No, child. Go away.”

She glanced back one more time, saw the two men less than twenty meters away, and snapped to the guard on the door. She cocked her leg and swung her foot with all her might, hammering him right in the crotch. His eyes popped open comically, his breath exhaling as if she’d punctured a balloon, and he sagged to the ground.

She ran inside.

Chapter 16

The man to my right kept his pistol hidden, but also kept it pressed into my chest. I was praying for a miracle to appear to give us a way out, and saw a commotion at the door. I turned to it, along with the men holding guns, and Amena appeared, ducking under a waiter and looking wildly around.

One of the staff tried to snatch her collar, and she dodged him, still moving, and still looking for me. Salvatore said, “Get her under control,” and the man to my left pulled the pistol away, which was a big mistake.

I shouted, “Jennifer, now!” And slapped my hands on the pistol of the man guarding me. He immediately reacted, whirling back to me with a hard right cross aimed at my head. I ducked it, still controlling his arm with the pistol, and his fist bounced off my shoulder before hitting me in the jaw.

It jarred me, but the weapon was the issue. I snapped my hands to the left, trapping his wrist joint by using the pistol itself, hearing a satisfying pop. The man screamed and I let go of the arm, the pistol falling to the floor. He jumped at me, wrapping me in a bear hug, something I wanted.

I took his momentum and threw myself backwards, rotating until he was underneath me. We hit the floor hard, with him taking the brunt of my two hundred pounds on top of him. He tried to fight back and I grabbed his head by the hair. There was a brief pause in time, him looking at me and me holding his fate.

I snarled, “I told you not to fuck with my family.”

His eyes went wide and I drove his skull into the stone floor as hard as I could.

I jumped to my feet, seeing Jennifer locked in her own battle.

She was punching her guy in the face with rapid blows and dancing out of his grasp, and he grew tired of the competition, deciding to use his mass to end the fight. He screamed and barreled in, grabbed her, lifted her up, and threw her against the wall, slamming her hard enough to leave a dent in the Sheetrock.

She bounced against it, fell to the floor, and he finally pulled out his pistol, aiming it at her head. I screamed and launched myself at him. He whirled, focusing on me, and I knew I was about to get shot.

His head exploded in a mist of red, and everyone in the room began to panic, the patrons all shouting and running. Confused, I watched men in uniform begin to pour into the gallery, all armed and all screaming. I raised my hands and waited.

Jennifer stood up, her hands also raised, and looked at me. I shrugged, telling her this was just one more event in our screwed-up honeymoon, and Amena came running over, grabbing my waist.

I tousled her hair, saying, “Man, am I glad to see you.”

She smiled and said, “Not more than me. I promise.”

The room calmed down, and although I didn’t understand the Italian, apparently we were in good hands. Or maybe not. But at least we weren’t getting shot at.

It’s all about perspective.

Standing next to me, his own hands in the air, Salvatore said, “It would be good if you worked with me on this. My reach is long.”

Amena scowled and said, “He took me to a van. He was going to kill me after he killed you.”

The officers were still getting control over the room, and this was my only chance. I looked at him and said, “If I help you, will you leave me alone?”

He said, “Of course.”

I looked at Amena, and saw her shock at my words. I put my hand on her cheek, smiled, and said to him, “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have threatened my family.”

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