Page 62 of A Fine Line

I interrupt him, “How will I know who’s not the enemy?”

“Two,” he continues. “If you can see them, they are the enemy.”

I don’t have time to reply as he says, “One,” and I feel the pressure of his body against mine starting to rise, so I follow suit.

In a blink, sunlight hits me in the face, and I don’t hesitate. I bring both my arms up, pointing my guns at the closest people I see standing in the way, and I fire over and over until I’m out of ammo. Bodies are strewn around the car, but I don’t have time to think about it before I feel Declan behind me, dropping back down inside the car.

We quickly reload, and within seconds, we’re rising again, taking aim and firing, while whoever is working in the shadows continues to eliminate the more difficult targets like clockwork. I don’t recall there being this many people waiting to retrieve me, but the bodies on the ground don’t lie.

My heart pounds in my chest, adrenaline coursing through my body, piquing all of my senses, and I laugh. Declan raises his eyebrows at me as he works to reload his weapons. “Are you okay?”

“I’m great,” I reply with another giggle. “I never knew shooting people could be this fun.”

Declan makes a face at me and shakes his head. “You’re fucking losing it. Just keep your shit together long enough for us to get out of here.”

“Where the fuck are we going? Can’t we just drive away?”

“Can’t drive without wheels. First thing they did was slash the tires, so we’re gonna have to vacate the vehicle and hoof it to our new ride.”

“Our new ride?” I ask, my face scrunching up. “Where the fuck is it?”

“Probably about a quarter mile south of here.”

I stuff more ammo into my vest and sit back in my seat, grinning. “So, should we divide and conquer, then?”

The look he gives me leads me to believe he’s entirely sure I’ve completely lost my mind. “No,” he says quietly. “We absolutely will not divide and conquer. Jesus fucking Christ. I give you a couple of guns one time, and now you think you’re a freaking vigilante warrior.”

I laugh again, the level of absolute euphoria flooding my body at an all-time peak. “I am a fucking vigilante warrior. I like the way this feels. I’m gonna do this more often.”

“Fuck sake,” he huffs, then rubs his hands over his face. “I go into this thinking I’m pulling an epic prank on my big brother by stealing his movie-actress girlfriend, and I end up with another crazy fucker, ready to knock heads.”

I laugh again. “I’m not Dare’s girlfriend, you moron.”

“Yeah, I get that now. But on a surface level, that appeared to be what you were. I’ve been getting information about him for quite a while, but I guess this information was incorrect on you being my new sister-in-law.”

“You’re gonna love Antoinette,” I say excitedly. “She’s amazing crazy. I totally want to be her someday.”

His eyes drop from my face to my hands, still holding my guns in my lap, and he mutters, “Looks like you’re well on your way.”

I smile proudly at him, holding my guns up in front of me in a completely juvenile manner and saying, “Really? Maybe you should get a picture so I can send it to her.”

His eyes widen in horror, so I drop my hands back to my lap and cackle. “I’m fucking with you, asshole. You’re so gullible.”

He glares at me and says, “We don’t have time for your fucking games right now. We gotta move it.”

“Tell me the plan, and let’s do it.”

“We’re going to make a run for it,” Declan replies. “My driver will cover our backs. Stick close behind me, and my men out there will attempt to take out the enemy as they show themselves.”

I nod, remaining quiet as he edges closer to the door, and I’m right behind him as he cautiously steps from the vehicle. A bullet ricochets off the door, and I turn toward it just in time to see a man fall to the ground.

Declan motions for me to exit the vehicle, and when I’m standing beside him, he grabs my hand, places it on his jacket, and says, “Hold onto me and keep close. If something happens to me.” He pauses and points up the street. “You run like hell three blocks up that street. Take a left, and a white SUV will be on the corner. Codeword is jackrabbit. You do not pause, you do not hesitate, you do not wait for me. You do not try to save me. Do you understand?”

“I’m not going to—“ He grabs my upper arm almost painfully, yanking me close as he repeats, “Do you understand, Carolina?”

I clench my jaw for a moment and glare at him. Then I give him a curt nod and say, “Yes. I fucking got it.”

I don’t know why all of a sudden, I’m so pissed off to have someone going out of their way to try to save me. Maybe it’s because I’ve devoted myself to the health and well-being of the people I love, and to have someone I don’t even know to be doing it so willingly confuses me. I may not be the biggest badass on the street, but I’m not the type to leave people behind to save myself.

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