Page 21 of Wick
"Hey." Riggs grabs Zara's attention, and her face lifts to look at him. "Keep up, and stay between me and Malik." He gestures to himself then to Malik. "Once we exit this house, we don't stop moving until we reach the other side of this compound. No matter what." Riggs' face hardens slightly. "You understand?"
Zara nods. "Sí. I understand." She kisses the forehead of her little son, who has been mute this entire time, but his eyes widen as he sees things no child should ever have to see.
Malik pulls my body closer to his, and his eyes drop to the weapon I still have a firm grip on. "Ready?" The depth of emotion in his eyes catches me off guard, but as always, I recover.
"Ready when you are." My statement holds more meaning than the current situation, and from the way Malik's expression shifts, I realize I have projected my inner feelings. I know—wrong time and place. But I have never hidden my feelings from him, and I'm not about to start now.
Without further discussion amongst us, Riggs opens the door, checks to make sure we are clear to exit. With a simple hand gesture, he covers us as we make a run for it.
As Malik jogs across the property, I keep my eyes trained. Passing several lifeless bodies, along the way, before spotting Scott's location, on the south end of the building Zara said the women are kept. More determined to make sure they get out of this godforsaken place; I start to squirm. "We need to get those women out of there." I push against Malik's chest, wanting him to release me.
"The other team has them secured." Malik lifts his chin as we approach the side of the building. Looking closer, I notice the dead man next to the door, which is open. Finally, he loosens his hold on me and lowers my feet to the ground just as we round the corner where we find Scott waiting for us next to an old cargo truck that looks to be straight out of WWII. "Did you check to see if this old ass hunk of metal runs?" Malik keeps his hand on my waist and guides me to the back end of the vehicle.
"She's old, but she runs." Scott takes a good look at me. By the look on his face, my appearance matches how I feel. He then looks past me. "Who's this?" Turning, I find Zara a couple of feet away, clenching her son.
"No time for introductions. Let's get the fuck out of here," Malik orders.
The second Malikplaces me in the back of the truck, my eyes land on three familiar faces: Cowboy, Thor, and Preacher. "Fuck, sugar, it's good to see that gorgeous face of yours." Cowboys gets up from his seated position, helping me stabilize myself. Then glances over my shoulder. "I've got her, brother." I realize he's talking to Malik, which I feel is still behind me.
"Miller." Malik acknowledges him with a cold tone to his voice. Looking back at him, I narrow my eyes, giving Malik a look, which he is paying no attention to. No. his eyes are trained on Cowboy. I know the look. It's the same one he uses to run off every man within a hundred feet of me. Now is not the time I tell myself.
"I need to load you in the truck. To do that, I need you to let me hold the kid." I hear Scott say. Noticing Zara is having a hard time letting one of the men help her; I sink to my knees. Avoiding the sharp and painful pull at my side, I lean forward and hold my arms out.
"Zara." Her head whips in my direction, and I notice right away she is scared to death. I think the reality of her choices is just now hitting her. "I'll hold him," I offer. Without hesitating, she passes her son up to me, and Riggs lifts her off the ground and into the truck, where she settles beside me. Smiling at her, I place her son on her lap. "We'll take care of you. I promise." I assure her as Malik climbs into the back with us.
"You three hunker down near the cab of the truck back there," he tells us.
Sliding our asses across the bed of the truck, we position ourselves in the safest location. The engine in this old piece of shit sputters and comes to life just as gunfire rings out. "Get down," Malik shouts, and I cover Zara and her boy with my body as Cowboy and Thor form a shield in front of us. The truck lurches forward, and the tires spin as Scott drives us away from the bullets.
Before long, the sound of gunfire fades. When we finally sit up, the only visual left of Cortez's compound is the bright orange glow and flames licking at the night sky from where his house once stood. My attention shifts to Zara. Tears are streaming down her face as she watches the scene slowly disappear as we get further away. I don't know her story, but those don’t look like tears filled with sadness. Those are tears of relief.
A hard bump in the road causes me to wince and grunt in pain. I grab at my side. "Let me see." Thor scoots closer. He grabs the hem of my shirt, and I allow him to raise it. "Shit." His fingers lightly press on and around the sensitive area. My breaths shudder when he probes one spot, and I let out a whimper.
"Take your hands off her," Malik warns, and my eyes cut to him.
"You're joking, right?" I'm put off by his attitude at the moment.
"Calm down, brother. It looks like our girl here has some busted ribs." Thor gives Malik an indifferent look yet stays right where he is. I notice the muscles on Malik's jaw twitch.
"You should have told me." He looks right through Thor like he doesn't exist locking eyes with me.
"Yeah, well. We were in a hurry back there. I'd say we had no time for a rundown of what I've been through." I harden my face when we hit another bump in the road.
"Wilder." Malik tries to come at me by using my last name and a stern stare. So, I level him with one of my own.
"Dawson." I throw right back at him.
Before further words can be exchanged between the two of us, the truck slows to a stop, and Riggs' fist bangs against the cab's rear window. "Roll out." Before Thor can help me to my feet, Malik is at my side. "We should have some compression bandages on board in one of the medic bags." His tone is much softer. With all the adrenaline leaving my body and effects from the drug wearing off more, I'm starting to feel the side effects of the beating I received hours ago. Malik helps me to the edge of the truck and eases me to a sitting position. Jumping down, he helps me out of the truck.
Scott and Riggs are leading Zara and her son to the chopper, while Cowboy and Thor help assist Preacher.
Once we're all aboard, Malik makes quick work of wrapping my ribs. "Are you going to tell me what happened?" he hands me a pain pill and a bottle of water to wash it down.
"Does it matter?" I'm able to ignore the discomfort as his fingertips graze my battered ribs, but I can't control the way my skin prickles with his touch. I look to the other side of the cabin, where the rest of my team sits, thankful that they are alive.
"It matters," Malik whispers, but I don't dare look back at him. After a couple of seconds, he pulls my shirt down over the bandage.
"How's Preacher holding up?" I ask, and Cowboy answers as the rumble of the engine and the propellers begin to spin.
