Page 58 of Pain and Pleasure

I make it about two steps when Juan Carlos reaches out from below me and pulls me to the ground, climbing on top of me and pinning me to the ground. I hear more people rush outside. Gabriela is screaming and Ricky is crying. My father's hands are wrapped right around my throat, choking me as I struggle to break free from his grasp.

"Don't shoot! You'll hit her!" Dante yells.

I see hands pulling Juan Carlos from me, but his gun is out and aimed in my direction. He cocks it back and aims it for my head. I hear my mother's scream and see her bright hair flash before my eyes. A gunshot rings out and I brace myself for the pain. I hear several more and wait. Everything is happening so fast, but I wait for the darkness of death to pull me under.

But it doesn't come. I'm still greeted with sunlight. I feel the heavy weight of my father on me and then something warm and sticky pools on my skin.

He's dead.

Dante shoves him off my body, shooting him one more time before he lifts me up. I take in my surroundings. There's so much blood everywhere, but none of it is mine. As I sit up, I see the lifeless body of my father and one of his men.

As I continue to look around, I see blond hair on the ground next to Juan Carlos. I get up and crawl to it.

"Emmie…" Dante whispers, but I don't stop.

I crawl and crawl until I am hovering over my mom's lifeless and bloody body. There's a bullet hole in her head, her green eyes wide open.

I don't even try to bite back the howl that escapes from my throat. More follow and within moments I'm screaming and wailing, clutching my mother's dead body as her blood paints my hands.

"Emmie, let's go inside. Please, get up," I hear Dante say but I press my head to my mother's chest, desperate to hear her heartbeat, but coming up short.

"Dante, Gabriela is gone. We can't find James either," Sergio says beside us, but all the voices around me sound fuzzy. Everything is a blur and all I can hear are the cries of anguish ripping through my throat.

"Fuck!" Dante yells and I feel his hands pulling at me, ripping me away from my mother’s body as I scream and kick in protest.

He hauls me over his shoulder, and I bang my fists against him, but he ignores every blow. I scream and kick and punch until my fists are sore and my throat is raw. Until everything around me goes dark.

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