Page 82 of What Doesn't Kill Us

I hear Darius in the background, bellowing for me, his fear reverberating through the parking lot.

Nine.

I try to move with the flow of men, but they’re not moving fast enough, bouncing off each other in their panic. I quit trying to get through them, dropping to the ground and crawling beneath them as I also try not to get trampled.

Ten.

My name cuts through the frenzy, an agonized echo that cuts me to the core.

Boom.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Dare

Ittakesafewminutes for us to get control of the situation.

Vincent’s men keep pouring in like rats from a flooding sewer. Most of them don’t even appear to be fighting back, which is infuriating, given the kill-or-be-killed situation.

Then everything stops, and I look around, locating Tony and Matt breathing heavily and covered in blood and filth but otherwise, looking no worse for wear. Agatha is injured, but she shook me off earlier, telling me to mind my business, so I assume she’s fine now. I look around, but I don’t see Toni. “Anyone have eyes on Toni?”

Everyone looks around, shaking their heads, and then we hear the yelling and what sounds like a herd of people running past.

I move toward the doorway when I hear a shout behind me. I turn, and there’s a man standing there with his hands up, approaching cautiously but quickly. He keeps his hands up, even as he is standing in front of me, and says, “She’s outside. She’s drawing Vincent’s father, Dimitri, to her. She said she’s going to end it.”

I curse, the beast inside of me thrashing again. I turn away from him, ready to sprint to her aid, but his voice stops me. “No, you’ll never get through that way. I’ll show you the way.”

The four of us look at each other, but it’s not like we have any other option. “What’s your name?”

“Anton.”

“You helped her get outside?”

He nods as he says, “It was the only option that had any chance of succeeding. She insisted I leave, that I get myself and my family to safety, but I couldn’t just go.”

I look him in the eye, having no choice but to believe him. We always knew we might all end up dead after this. I guess now we’re going to find out.

Anton spins around, running to the other side of the room, and we all follow. We go down several hallways and then come to an exit, and he puts his hand up for us to wait. He opens the door, peeking his head out, looking in both directions before moving to fully exit the building.

We pursue him closely, running around the building, stopping at the edge, and peering around. He looks back to us and whispers, “There’s still many people in the way, but they won’t be expecting you from this direction, so at least you’ll have the element of surprise.”

“Thank you.” I grab his arm, drawing his attention before continuing, “If Toni said that you should go, then you should go. We got this.”

Anton shakes his head. “No. Most of the men out there don’t want to be here. They were coerced, forced, or blackmailed. If they see me on your side, they’re more likely to fall back. No one wants to die for an unjust cause. It’s meaningless to them. It has no actual point outside of someone else’s desire for money and power.”

That all these people have had their lives put on the line to serve the selfish desires of a madman makes my blood boil. Nothing else is said. We all turn and move around the building, Anton leading the way.

One person takes a shot at us but then does a double-take when he sees who’s leading our charge. Around half a dozen men stand there, stunned, the confusion clear on their faces. A man in the back shouts orders, his gun coming up, but Anton takes him out first, and he drops to the pavement.

The men around him gape, their eyes wide with shock and uncertainty. Anton says something in a foreign language, maybe Russian. I suck at languages, so I have no idea what he’s saying, but all five of the remaining men straighten their spines, their lips curling as they lower their weapons.

We keep moving, now with six of Vincent’s men leading us to where the others are swarming. Anton says something else to them, and all of them reach into their gear, pulling out knives. They take off separately, obviously on missions of their own, and soon, I see they’re singling out specific people.

There’s a group of men up ahead, and through the path between them, I see a tall man standing near Toni. She steps in closer to him, and I increase my pace, running right into the crowd.

They pull out their weapons, intent on engaging me, but no sooner do they raise their guns does someone behind me takes them out. I hear Toni laugh, a strange, eerie one that sends a chill down my spine.

I push closer, and I hear someone shouting, and then some men appear to lunge forward before spinning around and running toward me. Above it all, I hear her voice over the crowd. “Grenade!”

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