Page 117 of Bloom: Part 1

As soon as I reached the next floor down, I ran into two henchmen. Now was the chance to see if the mask worked. As I walked past them, they nodded but otherwise didn’t spare me a second glance. Big mistake. With their backs to me, I easily took them out.

More confident in my acquired disguise, I ran for the stairs.

The first floor was a maze of corridors leading off in all directions. I took one and walked with purpose, keeping an eye on the corners and listening for any sounds of movement. It felt like walking through the belly of a beast, each step taking me deeper into its guts.

If I got out of this alive, I would never stop wearing black. For all the motherfuckers who’d made fun of me for always wearing black, my fashion sense was saving the day. I slipped into a visitors’ bathroom to get my bearings. The mask was stifling, and the coppery tang of blood was so strong I could all but taste it on my tongue.

I checked my ammo, pleased the gun from my last victim was still fully loaded. I placed the weapon on the vanity, yanked off my mask, and splashed cold water on my face.

How was Logan doing? Did he forgive me for restraining him? He would have plenty of time to get over it because he wouldn’t die today. I would see to it. How dare these assholes threaten his life? No one could blame me for being ruthless. Not this time.

The bathroom door creaked open, and a tall figure, clad in black, entered, his face hidden behind a similar mask. I lowered my head, letting my hair fall over my face to partially obscure it. Hopefully, he wouldn’t take a good look at me.

“Hey, man.” He turned the tap on. “What a shit show this has turned into, ain’t it?”

I grunted, shifting my gaze from him to my gun on the counter. His was in his hand. What were the odds he had a bullet in his head before he shot me?

“This is such fucking bullshit. I ain’t gonna get myself killed because of Magnus. We should have left when Two Fingers and the rest of them died, but no, he’s after that doc who blew Two Fingers in half. We all knew the two were fucking, but that’s his personal fight, not ours. Know what I mean?”

“Yeah.” I deepened my voice.

“He has no way out. He’s already shot a doctor and a nurse, but I didn’t kill no one. I can still walk away before we wind up being fucked. By the number of us who have been killed, several cops are already inside. So what’re you doing? You staying with Magnus or turning yourself in?”

“Staying.”

He looked at me through the mirror. “You’re a brave motherfucker.” He narrowed his eyes. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

Fuck, I’d been made. I grabbed my gun but had no time to aim, so I slammed it hard against his temple. He staggered againstthe sink, grabbing it for balance. I didn’t let him recover but hit him again, this time he crumpled to the tile floor.

“Wait!”

I fired two shots into his chest. His body jerked with the impact, then lay still, slumped against the bathroom tiles, a crimson pool spreading out from beneath him.

Shit. Someone must have heard the gunshots. I quickly pulled my mask back on and slipped out of the bathroom. I’d been at the hospital several times, and it’d never been this quiet. At the intersection of hallways, a sign pointed at a door with the word “lunch room.” Magnus would be inside with the nurses and doctors he’d taken as hostages.

I approached the door, my heart pounding, my palm sweaty on the grip of the gun. The sounds were muffled here, distorted into a distant hum. I reached for the doorknob, steeling myself for what lay ahead.

I pushed the door open. A burly man with a wild beard and piercing blue eyes pointed his gun at the nurse who Logan had made me apologize to. The woman was crying, her white uniform torn and dirty. Blood dripped down her leg from a wound on her thigh.

“It’s your turn, sweetheart,” Magnus said. “Your precious doctor doesn’t care about your life. He’d rather you all die than give himself up.”

“Please, I have a daughter who needs me.”

I scanned the room, my stomach dropping. Magnus wasn’t alone. The hostages sat with their backs together on the floor in the center of the room. At a table were three other men, all with guns, watching the sight unfolding with grins of approval.

If I killed Magnus, I would still have them to deal with. The one thing I had working for me was that they sat away from the hostages, making it less likely for me to accidentally shoot any of them.

I need to get closer.

Neither Magnus nor the men at the table spared me a glance. So many of their men must have come and gone several times. I took this as my cue and casually walked over to a vending machine in the corner of the room.

“You’re just in time to join the party,” the bald one said, his eyes fixed on his amusement. “Want to join our bet? We’re trying to see how many workers Magnus kills before the doctor turns himself in.”

“Cree!” Magnus bellowed, saving me from responding.

“Yes, sir?”

“Get the camera rolling.”

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