Page 39 of Nemesis
The shot was quick. The bullet slammed into my shoulder, the force of it blurring my vision.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. My bones groaned from the impact, and I felt hot liquid trickling under my shirt.
My eyes snapped shut as I tried to ignore the pain lancing down my arm, the ringing in my ears loud. This wasn’t the first time I'd been shot, but it still hurt like hell.
I waited, quieting the shouts surrounding us, letting them fade into the background as I focused on trying to decipher if there were any more gunshots. None came.
A single bullet. And it was aimed right at her.
I was still trying to understand what was happening, why a sniper was targeting her, when I felt her squirm against me.
“Let me go,” she hissed, trying to roll from underneath me.
I blinked twice, taken aback by her harsh tone. I was the one with a bullet potentially lodged in my shoulder and she was trying to get away, which did nothing else but infuriate me more. Did she always have to fight me even when I was trying to save her fucking life?
“Olivia Morales, stop being stubborn and stay low,” I gritted in her face, pinning her in place with a hand around the nape of her neck.
She continued to squirm, but I leaned my face closer to hers. “I said stop fucking moving. Do not make me repeat myself.” My grip was more firm, giving her no room to shift any further.
Every inch of my body was covering hers. Her eyes went wide at our closeness, her breath hitching, turning shallower by the second.
I ignored the rapid effect her proximity had on me and looked around for Jaxon. I found him behind a turned table a few feet away, gun in hand, with Victor plastered against his back, a frightened look smeared on his face, like he’d just seen a ghost.
“Is the sniper gone?” I mouthed to him.
He shrugged, unsure.
I scanned the vicinity, looking through the shattered window for any signs of the sniper still being there. They probably retreated as soon as they missed their target. My guess was they’d probably be long gone by the time the authorities arrived.
“I’ll count to three and we’re gonna run toward the back hall there,” I said close to her ear, turning my head to point to the back of the restaurant.
I pinned her with a glare before she could argue. My words finally got past the confines of her need to defy me. Relenting, she nodded in understanding.
When I deemed the coast clear, I drew my gun from the side holster at my hip. Then, I whispered “three” in her ear, tugging her up as I stood, and we both bolted to the back of the room, my body still shielding hers.
Finding the supply room I knew was on the left, I tugged on her arm, yanking us inside, and locked the door behind us. I knew Jaxon would get Victor home right away, and honestly I didn’t really care about what happened to him.
My goal was solely focused on getting Olivia to safety.
My arm reached behind her to pull on the dangling string cord I’d noticed coming in, turning on the low watt bulb above our heads.
It flickered before dimming the room in a soft amber hue. My hand drifted to settle on the small of her back, pulling her to me. After slipping the gun underneath the waistband behind my back, I let my hands roam over her body, inspecting her for injuries.
She parted her lips as if she was about to say something, but no sound came out. Her eyes were wide as she focused her attention on me. She blinked rapidly, then shook her head, making a move toward the door behind me.
I caught her hand in mine, my fingers tightening around her wrist. I yanked her into me, her face now only inches away from mine. My other hand was quick to wrap around the back of her neck, bringing her even closer until our breaths mingled together. “Do you have a death wish?”
She lifted her chin up, defiance in her eyes, but she didn’t utter a word.
Her frame tensed against mine and I willed my body not to shiver from how overwhelming her proximity was. I hadn't had this strong of a reaction to someone else in a long time.
It was probably the allure of the forbidden, but I couldn't deny the way my body was taken by her, by the sense of familiarity. The way she molded perfectly against me. The look in her eyes.
Fuck.
I pulled away from her, putting as much distance as I could between the two of us. I moved to take off my suit jacket.
“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, perplexed.
