Page 34 of Trig

We let the bullets fire off into Carmen. Each one of us takes our revenge, letting our pain ring out while settling the score. When the mags are all empty, I stumble over and drop to my knees near his body. I take my two knives out of my pocket and plunge one into his cold dead heart and the other into his temple. One of the brothers, still unsatisfied, walks up, rears up the heel of his boot, and with brutal force, stomps down onto Carmen's jaw. The sound of bones breaking fills the air. When it’s done and Carmen is no more, we all take a second to feel the weight lift. The men nod to each other and then Gabriel’s men silently carry him out. Nine rushes over with worry in her eyes and yanks off her hoodie. She lifts my shirt and applies pressure to the stab wound around my rib cage.

“Help me up,” I grunt.

I light up another cigarette as she pulls me up and leans me against the wall.

“You shouldn’t be smoking,” she says with concern.

I shake my head. “I’m bleeding out and you’re worried about me smoking.”

“I’m worried about you in general.”

“She cares.”

“Only on Tuesdays,” Nine sarcastically shoots back.

She’s standing there in her white tank, blue jeans, and black boots. Blood misted across her entire body, hair, and clothes. She’s still the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.

“Even if my death was to separate us, I would find a way back here to be with you.”

She puts her hand on my heart. I put my hand on hers.

“After today, I don’t ever want to wait for you to find a way back to me.”

Nine gently grabs the cigarette from my fingers and tosses it on the floor. She then takes my dirty, blood-stained hand in hers and we walk out. With my free hand, I hold her hoodie tight to my wound. We struggle but we manage to make our way downstairs and outside where Gabriel and his men are waiting for us. Everyone looks like a war veteran; bloody, bruised, and battered. One of the brothers is putting pressure on Gabriel's chest wounds.

“If everyone is here, who is watching the kid?” I ask.

“He’s safe. He’s locked in the vehicle with a laptop, watching cartoons and eating doughnuts. I told him if he opens any door the car will explode,” one of the brothers says.

I stare at him, unsure of what to say. As a father, I want to choke him. As a killer, I understand fear tactics.

“Mission first, man. You know damn well the kid was a wrench thrown in. I did my best until my brother called for backup. I had to leave him, but I locked the boy in and gave him a knife for protection.”

He gave my young son a deadly, sharp knife. What the fuck? I turn my attention toward the vehicle in the distance, but I can’t see shit since the windows are blacked out. My face clearly shows concern. Nine looks at me and points to herself, as if to say she can go check on him. I nod.

“Gabriel, you hanging in there, buddy?” I say, as Nine stops in her tracks to listen to his response. Gabriel puts up a thumb. “We need to get you to the doctor's house, now.”

“I’m fine. Burn it all,” Gabriel mutters. “We leave after we burn it.”

“You heard the man’s wishes,” I yell. The guys nod. “Did one of you get all the money out like we discussed?” They nod again. “Well, burn this mother fucker to the ground. My fucking side is bleeding out and my knee is shit. I’ll stay with Gabe. Nine, do you want to watch?”

“Do I want to watch them burn down the pits of hell? You fucking bet I do. Let me run over and check on the kid first. Someone toss me the keys.”

The taller brother takes the keys out of his pocket and throws them in her direction. She makes a quick dash down to the vehicle and shortly returns, out of breath. She places her hands on her knees in an attempt to get her breathing stabilized. I look at her, patiently waiting for an update.

“The good news is that he fell asleep in the backseat. The bad news is that he ate the whole bag of doughnuts. I confiscated the knife and covered him up with someone’s jacket. Everything is good.”

A sense of relief washes over me as we prepare to finalize this last step. I, Gabriel, and Nine watch as they pour gasoline all around the outside of this house. The brothers light a few matches and toss them around until the fires ignite. It doesn’t take long before the house is smoking and the flames begin to engulf the home. Feeling satisfied, we all turn at the same time to walk toward the vehicle.

“Do you hear that?” Gabriel mumbles. “There's a noise behind us.”

None of us understand him. He’s injured badly and his words are garbled. He halts in place, and I think maybe it’s to rest. The brother holding him up stops, as do we all. Gabriel looks over his shoulder, first to Nine, who has leaned down to fix her boot, and then he looks past her to something in the far distance. He squints his eyes as I look back and forth, confused. Fear quickly fills his face.

“Nine!” Gabriel suddenly screams out.

He breaks free from the brother helping him and runs back, knocking Nine over just as the sound of a bullet whizzes by.

I pull out my gun to shoot but it's empty and I have no extra mags. I drop to the ground and scurry toward Nine.

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