Page 39 of The Wicked
“Fuck you!” I heaved, collecting air into my lungs, and realized I wasn’t entirely pressed into the counter anymore.
“Breathe.”
My pulse was still racing, and I was trying to regain control of my ringing ears, but I was breathing, trying to calm my racing heart, breaking down the iron walls that had quickly mounted themselves around me. I wasn’t pressed to the counter, his hands weren’t almost breaking my wrists.
Space.
There was a lot of space.
“Are you calm?” he asked.
“No.”
It took four minutes until the ringing stopped, until I could breathe properly again.
I drew in a breath and released it with my response. “I’m calm now. Let me go.”
He did, and I wasted no time turning and pulling back my fist to aim at his face. My fist slammed into his stupid fucking perfect nose, and I was disappointed that I didn’t hear a crack, but I must have hurt something because he swore, stumbling back while cradling his nose as blood poured from his nostrils.
Good.
I held my shoulder, the pain making my knees weak.
He hissed, swiftly wiping the blood away. “You throw a good punch, I’ll give you that.”
My eyes shifted to the bullet graze on his arm before lookingat him again. “I aim to please. I’ll also ensure I don’tmissthe next time I shoot you.”
“Your aim is pitiful. I’m not worried.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I never fucking miss. The only reason you’re alive is because Devil fucking cares if you’re breathing.”
“Amazing, because that’s the only reasonyouare breathing.”
“Yeah, you can try to kill me; I promise you won’t succeed.”
“You’re so certain.”
“Oh yes, I am.” I took a step back. “I was shoved in a room with twenty horny armed men, and I was the only one who came out breathing. My luck doesn’tendwith gambling.”
His face hardened. “Who the fuck are you?”
A smile curved at the side of my lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Then I turned, opened the door, and walked out.
He didn’t stop me.
I walked straight ahead, hearing the door close behind me as I rounded the corner.
I spotted Casmiro walking towards the room I’d just left, and I didn’t stop when he spotted me, complete shock and horror in his eyes.
He’d heard the gunshot and probably thought it meant I was dead.
My smile widened as I brushed past him. “Hey, Cassie, you might wanna check on your boss,” I threw over my shoulder without stopping. His curse and footsteps as he rushed to his boss resounded in the hall. “Amateurs.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Elio
It wasn’t the fact that she put up a fight. Her stealth and the absence of hesitation when she raised the gun and pulled the trigger was the thing that threw me off. I couldn’t for the life of me stop thinking about that—about her.
