Page 69 of Between Us

Someone yelled something, but it was lost in the chaos that followed. Roman aimed and fired the first bullet, hitting a bewildered Ivan right in the chest. He looked down in shock, seeing the blood starting to seep through his white shirt before he dropped to his knees. Then everyone was shooting from all sides.

“Shit!” Sasha cried out, ducking down behind a pile of junk at the same time Boris hid behind a concrete pillar.

Alessandra struggled in the chair, full-blown panic written on her face as she tried to get away from harm’s way.

Roman fired his gun again. The second bullet grazed Ivan’s ear and the third one pierced his abdomen. A second later, he was lying face-down on the floor, unmoving.

Endless strings of bullets flew across the room, making Roman fear that some of them could hit Alessandra. They didn't have a plan and it showed. Theyhad come in a hurry and were forced to improvise for lack of time. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

“Watch out for my wife!” he yelled, taking a step back to avoid the spray of angry bullets flying their way.

“Roman!” Boris called from behind the pillar protecting him. “Stop this shit and I'll let her live.”

A fresh wave of violence gripped Roman by the throat like an invisible fist. He wasn't going to stop until all of three of them took their last breaths.

“The barrel,” Stepan said from beside him. “Cover me.”

Roman understood his intention immediately. Reloading his gun, he fired to Boris's left, distracting him from what was happening on his right side. Stepan quickly moved into position, running away from the alcove and hiding behind the old water barrel sitting at the room’s entrance. From that spot, he had a perfect shot at Boris. His raised his hand, aimed and fired.

Boris dropped to his knees with a grunt, sounding like a wounded animal.

“Fuck! Boris!” Sasha shouted from behind the pile of junk he was using as a shield.

“Stop shooting and get out of there, motherfucker!” Alek yelled back. “You're as good as dead.”

“Fuck you!” Sasha sneered, shooting at the barrel. Stepan dropped to his ass in an attempt to cover his head. “If I die, I’ll take the bitch with me.”

Roman had to act fast. He knew the man was desperate and wouldn’t hesitate to do as he threatened. “Move,” he ordered to Dimitri standing on the other side of the corridor. “Flank my left.”

Stepping away from their hiding spots at the sametime, they both started shooting at Sasha, not giving him time to retaliate or try to aim his gun in Alessandra’s direction. At the same time, Stepan moved from behind the barrel, rushing behind a pillar instead. A few more steps and he would be beside Boris who was still on the floor, looking like he was barely breathing.

Seeing they were closing in on him, Sasha reacted like any cornered animal would. He struck back. With a battle cry that sounded unhinged, he lifted his arm swung it around, emptying the magazine of his semi-automatic pistol in whatever target he could hit.

“No!” Roman shouted, ice settling in his veins when he realized the imminent danger Alessandra was in. She was just a few feet ahead of Sasha, in a diagonal line, still bound to that goddamn chair and unable to move to save her life. She tried to throw herself to the ground, but the metal chair was too heavy, keeping her upright.

“Fuck!” Dimitri swore, moving a few inches to the left when a bullet whizzed past his head.

“Don’t let up!” Roman ordered, taking another step forward, determined to end this fast. “Alessa, move your head! Down! Down!”

She tried to, bending forward as far as she could, her face strained with the effort.

Finally, Sasha’s gun went quiet.

Roman stopped shooting, and the others did the same. Silence settled over the room.

He looked at Alessandra, her body bent at a weird angle and her eyes screwed shut tightly. He had a clear path to go to her, but before he could, movement caught the corner of his eye as Sasha made a run for the back entrance, so tantalizing close to where he was. Out of options and munition, he gunned for it as fast as hecould, but it was to no avail. Roman aimed straight for his head. One single shot and he was out, dropping on the dirty floor like a deadweight.

Roman rushed to Alessandra, letting the gun drop from his hand as he grabbed her face.

“It’s me,” he rasped, lifting her head. “Open your eyes, baby.”

When she did, he let out a sigh of relief. She was still crying, her beautiful eyes red and swollen. He told himself her crying was a good thing because it meant she was alive.

“Are you hit?” he asked.

She blinked at him heavily as if she couldn’t understand his question. More tears fell.

“I don’t think she is,” Andrei said, already working to untie her wrists from behind the chair.

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