Page 184 of Finish Line

“Run, Shelby.” Nick wiggles around. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Right.” I start cutting the rope that binds Nick to the chair.

A car pulls up. “We need to go, now.”

I cut the last rope and helped Nick up. I have one arm around his waist, and we reach the back door. We don’t make it far.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Roger asks.

A shot cracks through the air, and Nick crumples.

“No!” I scream.

I turn around and fire and miss both, but I didn’t expect to hit them because I didn’t aim. I dive behind the couch. Nick lies on the floor, blood spreading on his shirt.

This can’t happen. I can’t lose another person I love.

I peek over the couch. Roger is behind one of our pillars with a well-dressed man.

“I thought you said you had her tied up?” the older man says.

“I did,” Roger sneers.

“You’re a worse failure than your father,” he spits out.

Roger turns and shoots his uncle. “Don’t talk to me about my father.” He shoots at every word. “Monkey, how did you free yourself from the ropes?”

He keeps shooting, and my only option is to shoot him or get him to run out of bullets.

The gun clicks, but no bullets are fired. Now’s my chance.

I stand and point the gun at him. “What are you going to do, Roger?” I make my way in front of the couch and coffee table. “Not smart of you.”

He charges me, and my gun jams when I fire. As we crash onto the coffee table, breaking it into millions of pieces, my gun flies from my hand.

He straddles me and alternates hitting me with both fists. “You stupid bitch. You made me kill my uncle.”

Something off to the right catches his eye. When he leans for it, I flip him off me. He reaches for the knife I dropped when I freed Nick, but I won’t let him grab that.

I knee him in the nuts, then dive over him. I grab the knife, cutting myself.

I swing around to stab him, but he catches the blade between his hands. I aim for his heart, but he moves the blade left. I push down, and the blade sinks into his shoulder.

He screams, and the next thing I know, I’m flying across the room, and the knife skids across the carpet.

“You bitch!” he roars. “You stabbed me!”

“I wanted to kill you but missed.”

He growls and once again dives for me, but I’m ready for him this time. My karate moves flow. He might not know karate, but he’s been on the streets long enough to know how to defend himself.

He pulls a knife out of his pocket. I scan around me to find the knife I dropped, but I can’t find it.

Roger attacks, and I defend myself as best as I can. He stabs my left leg as I kick him. When I punch him, he slashes my arm. Pain radiates through me, and I grab my arm. He swings around and stabs my side.

“I’m killing you right now.” His lips pull back in a snarl.

Once again, I find myself on my back with him over me. The knife is poised over my heart. I struggle to keep it from going in, but he’s stronger than I am. I take a risk and move my right hand away from holding the knife. I sock him across the jaw, and it’s enough to move the blade before he stabs me.

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