Page 143 of Altered

Moments later, Noah came into my vision. He was surrounded by half a dozen men who were watching him warily while they wrestled to restrain him, and hold him back.

"You fucking monster!" Noah roared, glaring at Gonzalez.

The man who was aiming a gun at his temple, brought it down hard on the back of Noah's skull.

The move would have knocked a normal man out cold, but Noah wasn’t a normal man.

Snarling, he lunged forward and head-butted the asshole, knocking him clean off his feet.

Blood sprayed everywhere as Noah tried and failed to break from the horde of assholes holding him back.

"Nowthisone," David chuckled, gesturing towards where Noah was being forced to the ground by countless men. "Is a pleasant surprise." He locked eyes on my fallen friend and said, "Hello, son."

"Fuck you!" Noah lunged towards him, stopped only by the sheer force of multiple men as they struggled to overpower him and remain in control. "You're no fucking father of mine," he continued to roar. "Had one of those and he's buried not too far from here. You'll be joining him soon enough!"

"All brawns and no brains," David tutted. "What a shame."

Gonzalez raised his hand towards the man aiming the gun at Annabelle and ordered, "Take the child."

The toddler was ripped from Annabelle's arms and handed off to another man.

My stomach churned when I heard the feral scream that tore from her throat.

"Don’t hurt him," she screamed. "Please…. Don’t hurt my baby."

I moved to do something, any fucking thing, to stop this from happening, but my body failed me. Staggering towards her, I collapsed on my knees, taking a boot to the stomach in the process.

"Noah," Annabelle cried out then as the gunman aimed at her face. "Noah, please…take him home to his father," she strangled out. "Youknow," she begged. "Youknow…please, just take him home to Jordan –"

Bang.

She collapsed on the ground, lifeless, and with a steady stream of blood pouring from between her eyes.

The sound of that baby screaming out "Mama, Mama," broke something inside of me.

Something inside of me died.

I could hear Noah roaring out my name, begging for mercy, but I knew there would be none shown here tonight.

I sank back on my knees, and exhaled a tortured breath.

"I'm afraid this is going to hurt, Bolillo," Gonzalez announced in gruff tone seconds before he aimed his gun at my chest. "See you on the other side, my friend."

I kept my eyes on my best friend, and in this moment, I prayed for a different life for him.

A different outcome.

I could see it; the pain in Noah's eyes – the helplessness – as he watched on.

"It's okay," I whispered, my words barely audible, but I hoped he heard me. "Tell Hope I'm s–"

"No!"

The roar that tore from Noah's throat was the last thing I heard before my body was riddled with lead.

And then, there was nothing.

Nothing at all.

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