Page 41 of Make Me Your Hitta

Time was running out. I had to make a choice.

Staring at Xenobia and seeing the determination in her eyes, I knew I was probably damning us both to early graves, but I couldn’t deny her what she wanted. A body was found gunned down in the hall. I grabbed his pistol and handed it to her.

“You remember how to use this?”

She nodded, and I felt my dick harden.

That’s my fuckin’ girl.

Xenobia

Adonis’s father’s goons were closing in, their faces twisted with sick glee as if they knew they’d be the victors. My heart pounded, but I couldn’t let them take me down. I raised the gun, finger trembling around the trigger.

“Stay the fuck back!” I shouted, my voice steadier than I felt.

One of them lunged, a knife glinting in his meaty fist. Time slowed as I squeezed the trigger.

POW!

The gun kicked in my hand, and blood sprayed as the bullet tore through his throat. He dropped, gurgling and clutching at the gushing wound.

Oh shit. I just killed a man.

My stomach churned, but there was no time to process. More were coming. I steadied my aim, ready to fire again if I had to.

“Xenobia!” Adonis’s familiar voice cut through the chaos. He appeared at my side, his weapon drawn. “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, unable to tear my eyes from the dying man at my feet. “I… I killed him.”

Adonis’s hand squeezed my shoulder. “You did what you had to. Stay focused, alright baby?”

A slow clap echoed through the room. The remaining thugs parted as a distinguished older man stepped forward—the head of the Toussaint family himself—Adonis’s father. Rage fueled me as I stared him down. His piercing gaze spoke volumes; although he was older, he had an aggressively authoritative presence. He was balding with salt-and-pepper hair, a well-groomed beard, and dressed in an expensive, dark suit.

“Well, well,” he snarled. “It seems the little Hawthorne princess has claws, after all.”

“I’ve got teeth too, mothaf—”

Adonis pushed me behind him before I could finish my sentence, squaring off against the much older man whom he faintly resembled. The air crackled with tension.

“Leave her the fuck alone.”

“You’ve made a big fuckin’ mistake coming back here, boy,” he growled, lips curled into a sneer.

“Nobody’s gonna stop me from protecting her. Not even you.”

“Turning your back on your family is a death sentence.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’ve never considered you my fuckin’ family.”

He scoffed. “And Don Hawthorne is? You’re nothing but a guard dog hired to watch his pampered bitch.”

I bristled at the insult, but Adonis remained unnervingly calm. His voice was ice. “Last chance. Leave now, or there won’t be enough left of you to bury.”

My eyes darted between them. Adonis was good, but we were in deep shit. Toussaint’s men flanked him, and what was left of ours stood ahead of us, guns drawn. What the hell was his plan?

The man’s laughter sent chills down my spine. “Big words from a man about to expire.” He raised his hand, signaling his men. “He’s no fucking son to me. Kill them both.”

My heartbeat rang in my ear as panic coursed through me. It was now or never. “Please don’t shoot, I’m pregnant!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

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