Page 3 of Saving Bonnie

I can’t see the kitchen, where I spend the first two hours of the day, even though I’m standing in it. Objects fade, colors are blending together, and everything in the background goes dark. Little by little, the world closes in, creating a halo around the muzzle of the gun pointed at me. My own personal Bond moment.

“Hey, man.” Another voice. There’s two of them. “Nah. Nah. Don’t do that.”

Yeah, what he said. I’ve joked about being found dead in my kitchen, but that was from working myself into an early grave, not this. My tombstone will readHere lies Bonnie Bustos and her rolling pin because she never gave herself time for a life.

I could have driven to the casino with Mom, but no, I was afraid Manny and Noah would have an issue in the morning since we’re shorthanded. The church crowd can be brutal. You’d think people would be more understanding after spending an hour contemplating their sins.

The world comes into focus, and the guy with the gun grins. Hot, humid air rushes in behind me like a tidal wave. My stomach turns.Oh God. I’m going to hell.

The grin disappears as his eyes shift away from me and widen. He’s focusing somewhere behind me, and the color is draining from his narrow face.

Pain explodes along my left side. I’m falling. Then an odd noise sounds next to me.Pop-pop, like an old plastic water bottle being crushed. My life turns to slow motion, and I swear I’ve been falling for the longest time.

He stares into the distance then down at himself. A red spot pops up in the middle of his chest, growing longer, then another appears right beside it. He stumbles, and a shot rings out.

Horrified, I clutch at my arm and chest, but I’m clean. I turn, expecting a line of blood smeared along the wall to where I’m sitting. Nothing. No signs of injury anywhere on me.

Someone’s yelling in the next room. Shuffling.Thump.

A shadow falls over me, and I glance up, up, up to find what scared the robber.Lord, the demon’s tall.

Dark jeans, legs moving in a purposeful stride as he passes me. The long-sleeved, black shirt hugs his body, outlining the muscles at his biceps. One hand is stretched toward me, the other is holding a huge gun. I can only see a bit of his profile, but he’s the image of a real-life terminator.

“Stay down,” he orders, without turning in my direction. His voice is calm, eerily so. If I could manage any words, I’d say yes, but he doesn’t seem to need the affirmation.

Meanwhile, the bell over the entrance chimes as the front door opens. The metal bolt on the screen door slams, but I can’t hear much else over the blood rushing through my system. A second later, tires screech, and a loudthunkfilters in from outside.

“Goddammit.” Though the curse sounds more like annoyance than anger. The vehicle peels out, going way too fast. He must have jumped in a car and gotten away, leaving his buddy to his fate.

“She scared them off,” the demon in the next room declares. Confused, I search around me for whomever he’s talking to. With no one else in sight, I grab the table and haul myself up.

The dining area goes dark, and I freeze, unable to see a thing. What little strength I mustered is fizzling, leaving me weak.

“Told you,” comes a hollow voice. “Punks.” The beep tells me he’s on a handheld radio. They go off often enough when the immigration guys come in from the bridge. So, who is the man in black? And why is he here?

A moment later, he strides through the dining area. One arm is stretched behind him, dragging someone by the foot.So, he didn’t get away.

My eyes widen as the guy on the floor is yanked past the doorway, leaving a dark trail. It happened so fast, you’d think this is a horror movie and he’s the victim taken by an unseen, sinister force.

“I really need to get off Netflix.” I manage to steady myself on the table. My nice stainless steel table I was finally able to buy so I can roll out flour tortillas in the morning. That was before I learned I’m broke. Realization slams into me. After this, who’s going to come? This will become known as the place where two guys were killed. My stomach clenches, and I bring my palm to cover my mouth.

My breath rushes out, and my mind flips through images like I’m swiping through the camera roll on my phone. The dishwasher I need to replace, the dent on the commercial freezer door that got me a discount, containers prepped for service, tortillas cooking on theplancha,and the deliveries shipped in from across the border twice a week.

This is the flashback of my life? Should I be upset or disappointed? I reach for the wall because everything’s shaking, or maybe I am.Why didn’t I stay on the floor?

A strong arm reaches around me, anchoring on my waist to hold me steady. “I got you,” he murmurs against the side of my forehead. “You’re okay.” But as I weave, leaning into him, I’m not so sure. “She’s fine,” he says in a curt statement. That’s right, he’s on the radio with someone, but there’s no beep. How many people is he talking to? “The adrenaline’s hitting her.” He pauses. “No, I pushed her out of the way. The shot came later, but his arm jerked, and it hit the ceiling as he was going down.”

My face is buried in his chest, and the rest of me is holding on for dear life. Absently, I focus on the space between the buttons on his shirt. The spot beneath my cheek is just warm, hard muscle. He walked in front of a gun, and he isn’t wearing a bullet proof vest.

“Maybe you are a terminator.”

His chest hitches, like he’s suppressing a laugh. I must have said that out loud.

CHAPTER TWO

Tino

I’ve got to give her credit. Bunny didn’t scream. Which is not what I expected. Most people would when a gun is pointed at them then they see a guy get tapped. Not much I could do to avoid that. It must take a lot to get her riled. She didn’t even say a word when I brought in the runner. I dragged him past the doorway with a quick jerk, but she’s not blind. Having the light off can only hide so much.

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