Page 91 of Saved By the Boss

With everything I have, I lunge forward, slamming my forehead into his nose. The crunch is sickening, and Fabian stumbles backwith a howl of pain, blood pouring from his face.

Before I can even think about what to do next, his nephew, Javier, grabs me and throws me to the ground. My head hits the concrete hard, and stars explode in my vision.

“You little bitch,” Fabian growls, holding his bleeding nose.

I look up to see Javier holding his gun to my head, finger dangerously close to the trigger. I slam my eyes shut, preparing for the end, for this to all be over. One way or another this is going to end tonight.

“Javier, stop,” Fabian calls out, tough his words are muffled by his hand covering his bleeding nose. “Don’t kill her. I want to do it myself.”

Javier steps back, his gun still trained on me as Fabian aims his own weapon. He stands over me, his face a mask of fury and blood. My chest tightens as I stare down the barrel of his gun, every muscle in my body frozen with fear.

Suddenly, there’s a loud crash from above, followed by the unmistakable sound of boots on the floorboards. Fabian and Javier both freeze, their heads snapping toward the ceiling.

“What the hell is that?” Javier hisses, his grip tightening on his gun.

Fabian doesn’t answer. He’s too busy listening to the chaos unfolding above us, the sound of shouting, footsteps, and then a loud, deafening boom as the door to the basement flies open.

Everything happens in a blur. Men in suits pour into the room, their guns drawn, their voices barking orders. Fabian and Javier react instantly, firing wildly as they dive for cover. Tawny screams, and we both scramble behind a metal container asbullets ricochet off the walls.

“Stay down!” I shout, my voice barely audible over the gunfire. My heart is pounding so hard, I can feel it in my throat. Tawny is staring at me as if I’m her lifeline, her eyes wide with terror.

A bullet whizzes past my head, so close I can feel the heat of it, and I press myself against the cold metal, praying it’ll hold. The air is thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder, and the noise is deafening, a chaotic symphony of gunshots and shouting.

I can’t see much from where we’re hiding, but I catch glimpses of men in suits exchanging fire with Fabian and Javier. One of the men goes down, clutching his chest, and my stomach churns.

This is a war zone, and we’re smack in the middle of it.

28

Declan

The door crashes open with an ear-splitting crack, and everything inside me shifts. It’s like the world slows to a crawl, every detail becoming painfully clear. The noise fades into the background, muffled like I’m underwater. I can hear the thudding of my own heartbeat in my ears, sharp and rhythmic, as adrenaline surges through my veins.

I see the first man. He’s raising his gun, his movements almost lethargic in my heightened state. Before he can even aim, I fire. The shot hits him in the shoulder, and his body jerks violently. He staggers, his gun clattering to the floor before his body crumples to the ground. I don’t wait to see what happens next. My focus shifts to the next target. I move before I think, my instincts guiding me, my body operating on autopilot.

There’s one person I’m looking for, and that’s Jade. I scan the room looking for her, unbothered by the bullets whizzing past me. Patrick and his men have me covered against the man shooting at me.

Finally, I catch a glimpse of Jade on the other side of the room. She’s scrambling across the floor, blood streaking her face, her movements frantic as she drags herself behind some kind of metal container. My chest tightens, my focus narrowing on her for a split second. Her eyes meet mine, wide and desperate, and it’s like a knife to the gut. She’s terrified. Hurt. And I wasn’t fast enough to stop it.

A man is standing over where she was moments ago, his head snapping toward the door as the chaos unfolds. He’s dressed differently than the others. Slick shoes, a tailored jacket, a flashy shirt. He’s not here to fight. He’s here to give orders. I know the type. Leaders always think they’re untouchable, dressing like they’re headed to some high-end club instead of a bloodbath.

He’s the one who’s brought these men here, who’s threatened Jade’s life. Him I’ll save for last.

But I’m not letting him go without a taste of what’s coming. My gun is up before he even sees me, and I fire. The bullet hits him in the knee, and he crumples to the ground with a guttural scream, clutching at his leg as blood spills out onto the floor. He’s not going anywhere now.

The room erupts as the Irish pour in, their guns blazing. Patrick’s men don’t waste time. They’re efficient, ruthless, sweeping through like a tidal wave and taking down anyone who isn’t one of ours. I duck behind a steel support beam, scanning the room for my next target. A man with a shotgun tries to flank one of Patrick’s guys, but I take him out with a single shot to the chest. He goes down hard, the weapon slipping from his hands.

The fight is brutal but quick. Patrick’s men outnumber Fabian’s, and it’s clear that Fabian and his nephew weren’t prepared for any kind of fight. They thought this would be simple, an inand out job, they had no idea that Jade would have this kind of fire power behind her. Bodies hit the floor, blood splattering everywhere. My ears ring from the noise, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop. Not until I know she’s safe.

The chaos dies down, the gunfire tapering off until there’s nothing but the sound of heavy breathing and the groans of the injured. My gaze sweeps the room, searching, counting. Most of Fabian’s men are dead or incapacitated, but there’s still movement, one man left.

Fabian himself, as it turns out.

He’s on the ground, propped up on one elbow, his face contorted with pain. Blood pools beneath his knee where my bullet hit him, his once-pristine suit now torn and stained. He looks up at me, his eyes narrowing with a mix of fury and fear. I walk toward him slowly, my gun trained on his face. Every instinct in me screams to pull the trigger, to end this here and now. It would be so easy. One squeeze of the trigger, and he’d never hurt anyone again.

But then I see her.

Jade’s face peeks out from behind the metal container where she’s hiding, her expression a mix of relief and horror. She’s watching me, her eyes locked on mine, and I know she’s seeing every part of me I’ve tried to bury. The part that used to have to survive on this kind of violence. The part that didn’t hesitate to kill.

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