Page 95 of Vicious

I hear footsteps coming our way.

There are probably people swarming the place, and I don’t know who they are. If one of them shoots, we’re done for.

I realize it probably had been suicide to leave that room, but I don’t regret it. At least this way, I’ll have tried.

We round the corner, and my heart freezes in my chest.

It’s Chase.

“Chase?” Baba asks, just as surprised. “How… Why are you here?”

Chase ignores Baba and goes straight for me. “May, are you all right?” He looks down at my stomach, where blood is seeping through the bandage and my shirt. “Fuck. You need a doctor. I have one. I mean, Hunter is waiting outside?—”

“Chase,” I say dumbly. “You’re here.”

“You called me,” Chase says. “Of course I came.” He grimaces and looks past us. “But we probably need to get moving. I don’t know what’s going on over on the other side of the building. We don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.”

“Crossfire,” I repeat. “How… Did you call the police?” Before he can respond, I lift one bloody hand. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter. Let’s go.”

I glance back in the direction we’d come from. The doctor is still back there, and for a moment, I consider telling Chase that she’s just as culpable as the rest of them.

Then I laugh, because why the fuck wouldn’t I?

“Can you let your… friends know that the doctor is as much of a whack job as the rest of them?” I ask as Chase gingerly starts to guide me down the hall.

“Doctor?” Chase asks, confused. “We can, but let’s get out of here first. Before anyone notices that you’re missing.”

I nod, and we follow Chase toward the exit of the building. I don’t really remember exactly how we got in here in the first place, but it has a lot of winding hallways.

“Just a bit farther,” Chase mutters, pushing a larger door open.

Unfortunately, Jake is on the other side of that door, gun aimed squarely at us. There’s a dead body at his feet, bleeding out.

“Who the fuck are you?” Jake asks when he sees Chase.

Chase flinches, but he puts himself between me and Jake. “A very well-connected man. I don’t recommend killing me, unless you want the collective might of the Huang family to come after you.”

“The who?” Jake asks, shaking his head. His gun is still pointed at us. “I don’t give a fuck about no Hongs. But I do know that Simon and his little girl there owe me big.”

“I did offer to pay you,” Chase says. “You didn’t like my offer. But I think we can still come to an agreement where we all get out of this unscathed?—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Jake shouts. “You think I’m going to trust anyone right now, let alone some fucking stranger who shows up while my men are getting shot?”

“Chase, if you have reinforcements…” Baba whispers, but all that does is draw Jake’s attention to him.

“Simon! What did you do? Who the fuck did you call?”

Baba looks as baffled as I feel, but he says, “Nobody. I was tied up.”

I try not to groan but end up failing miserably.

Jake doesn’t like the backtalk, and he growls. “Well, I’m not leaving empty-handed.”

“As I was saying, if you want me to wire you the funds—” Chase starts.

“Shut up!” Jake interrupts. “I’m not an idiot! I know how that goes. You wire me some funds, and next thing I know, the feds are showing up on my doorstep. No. Back away from the girl. I’m taking her and selling all her parts like I originally intended.”

Jake stalks closer to us, and I notice Chase tensing up. I don’t see a weapon on him, and I’m not sure what he’s going to do against Jake and his gun.

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