Page 47 of The Sting of Love
We have to get out of here. This shit just got real. They won’t stop until they kill her.
I reach for her again and run with her to my bike. I hand her the helmet, and she puts it on.
“Hold on to me, you hear me?” I shout, and she nods vigorously. Her beautiful eyes brim with tears.
We get on the bike, and I take off down the road. A car follows close behind, speeding, and I know it has to be them.
My worry is that if they shoot, we’ve got no cover on this bike. A car would have been better to protect her, but I didn’t have a choice at the time.
I push past the speed limit and take the shortcut to the market. There the roads are narrower and verge onto paths. If I can get to the smaller roads, we’ll stand a better chance to get away. They fire, but I manage to evade it.
People scream and run out of the way, taking cover. More bullets sound, and I pray they don’t hit my girl. She holds on to me for dear life, and I curse the day I laid eyes on her and took that step I never should have taken to cross the line. It was the day I was going to throw her bracelet into the sea. I wish I had.
Look at us now.
I can feel her fear, can smell it. Guilt consumes me for it.
I look ahead and see hope. The road narrows down into a path. The car won’t be able to fit down there. I ride through and continue at the same speed then take the route that will lead me down the country roads.
I think I’ve lost them. There are no cars on the road, so I get down it fast. The only thing I can think to do is risk going back to my house to get one of my cars.
Then what?
I don’t know. I just know we can’t stay here.
I can’t stay here with her.
So, my house it is.
We ride into the garage, and when she gets off, she rushes over to the side near the hedge and throws up. She barely manages to get the helmet off before everything comes up.
The least I could do is go over to her and hold her hair back. She allows me to do that, but the minute she finishes, she pulls away from me and tries to walk away.
“Where are you going?” I yell, grabbing her arm and yanking her to a stop.
“Let go of me, you asshole. How could you do this to me? You knew you couldn’t be with me right from the start, yet you encouraged whatever the fuck it was we had. Now look at me. Get away from me. I have to go.”
Go?
Yes, she should go. I just don’t think she’ll make it wherever she’s going. If I did, I’d let her go. I’d leave her alone to leave me, but I’m pretty sure if I did that, the next time I saw her, she’d be dead.
I pull back on her arm harder. It hurts her.
“Willow, I can’t let you go. They’ll kill you.”
“So, what are you going to do, Donny? You asshole!” She slaps me across my face and hits me hard in my chest, but I still hold on. “Let go of me.” She winces.
I can’t let go though. I won’t do it. She doesn’t understand how much danger she’s in. She doesn’t understand that I’m the only person who can protect her, and even that I’m not sure of. Men like Amadeo don’t care and have no regard for life. It’s blood and vengeance, no matter the cost. No matter the innocent in the circumstance.
“You’re hurting me, let go!” she wails and I hold on tighter, desperation turning me into a monster as Amadeo’s words ring through my head. I remember the threats he made for her.My girl. I can’t let that happen to her, and not because of me.
Thinking fast, I form a plan in my mind. The type of plan only a devil like me can offer. It’s a really bad idea but the best I can come up with right now.
She’s not going to like it. No more than I do.
I catch her face and hold her throat like I’m going to snap it. Terror washes over her beautiful doll-like face.
“Donny…” she breathes.
