Page 43 of Snow Good to Lose
The other guys shuffled out of the room.Caden took my hand and pulled me along. I stopped at the door.
“Wait.” He pulled me into the adjacent room. “They are taking out Sinezilio and his men?”
“Yes.” Caden sighed.
“This was his plan all along.” I pointed toward where Carlos and his men exited out onto the back balcony.
Caden looked out the window as Carlos and his men got into position.
“Did you know about this?” Caden’s head wiped back to me.
“No.” He touched my face. “Of course not. I’d never put you in danger for someone else’s cause and I am not about to give my life to protect theirs. None of this should have happened this way.”
“Then why are we following him?”
“We need to stick to the plan and then we’re out.” Caden holstered his gun. “Baby, no more running. We get to have a normal life.”
“Under Carlos’ protection.”
“No, on our own terms.” He kissed me. “I promise. Just trust me.”
“What about my father?” I sighed. Despite what my father was about to do to me, I couldn’t agree to any plan causing his death.
“That’s what Justine is for.” Caden pulled his gun out and took my hand. We headed out onto the balcony. We stepped over two of Carlos’ men laying on the ground with sniper rifles posed and pointing toward the back of the house.
“She will get him out of the way. Anna, too,” Caden continued.
He descended a zigzag staircase on the side of the house. He trained his weapon and scanned the area below. The guards near the back door were already down and being dragged out of the way. The small six-piece band I saw setting up earlier not only had instruments in their cases, but each pulled out a machine gun and fell in behind Carlos’ men.
The caterers scattered, running in the opposite direction across the south lawn. The chef abandoned the grill. Flames licked at the meat.
Miguel ran toward the grill and squatted behind it. The flame disappeared. He took off running around the side of the house. His arms covered his head.
At the bottoms of the stairs, Caden swung me around the side of the building, covering my body with his.
Two seconds later, all hell broke loose.
An explosion burst from the direction of the outdoor kitchen and rocked the house.The heat engulfed us.
“Stay close.” He turned. I glued myself to him and covered our back. At the edge of the house, he stopped. He reached back and gave me a reassuring squeeze and scooted around the corner, skimming the brick wall. Gunshots rang out above us. Men poured out of the house and fell immediately. Carlos’ men picked them off, one by one.
I cringed and turned away. I spotted movement out in the distance on my left. Two men jogged across the lawn, guns pointing right at us. I lifted my gun.
“Caden,” I whispered. He stepped in front of me and raised his weapon. Before he pulled the trigger, two gunshots from above took the men out in quick succession. Caden scanned the grounds and took my hand.
“Let’s go.” We entered the house through another door. It led into an office. Caden shuffled to an inside door, peeked out before closing and locking us in. He dragged two chairs to the door and barricaded it.
“Babe.” Caden moved swiftly behind the desk and sat down.
“What are you doing?”
“Anyone comes through that door, shoot 'em.” He pointed to the door leading outside and turned his attention back to the computer. I stood with one eye on the door and another on Caden. Men ran by the door every few seconds. I had no way of knowing who was friend or foe.
“How do I know who to shoot?” I pointed my gun at the door. My hands shook. Chaos ensued outside. Men yelling and screaming. Gunshots whizzing all around. I couldn’t think straight.
“Amari.”
My eyelid twitched. Another explosion went off. I yelped and jumped.
“Baby.” Caden stood in front of me, placed a hand over mine, and lowered my gun. “Relax. We're going to be fine.” He inhaled deeply. I copied him. He exhaled. I did the same. “You okay?” He cupped my cheek.
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“Okay, remember.” He let go of my hand holding the gun, and I lifted it back up. “I said anyone.”
