Page 68 of Run with Me

As the horse came closer, everyone’s attention was drawn to the lifeless body it was carrying. I wished I could see who it was. My blood coursed through my veins, overworking my heart. Maybe this was exactly the distraction we needed to get away from Ben and Mateo?

A shot sounded, and I saw Ben fall to his knees and roll over to the side. He dropped the gun from his grip. It landed closer to the edge of the cliff, where John was leaningover.

“Bastardo!” he screamed, holding onto his thigh where blood oozed between his fingers. At the scream, the horse reared up and struck out with its forelegs, catching Mateo in the chest and sending him flying straight at me – except he landed by the fuel canister, tipping it over. The fuel spilled and ignited the fire. Flames consumed the rope in an instant. Mateo caught on fire as well and began rolling in the dirt, while Ben dragged his leg, making his way toward the gun that had flown out of his hand earlier.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion, though it was actually just a few seconds. I watched the three men fight for their lives: Mateo rolling on the ground, Ben nearing the gun, and John desperately trying to pull himself up the rope. He was leaning so far back that the task was nearly impossible from that angle. The man jumped off the horse, threw the concealing hat to the side, and flung the poncho off his back as if he were staring in a movie.

Xavier!

When he ran to me, I didn’t understand why at first, but then noticed that the rope keeping John alive was almost burnt through. Xavier grabbed the end just as it snapped, and John fell back, pulling Xavier with him. As John’s weight dragged Xavier closer to the canyon’s edge, it also tripped Ben. Xavier dug his heels into the ground until he finally managed to stop the momentum of the drag. With the bullet through his thigh and the rope around his feet, Ben lost his balance and fell backwards over the ledge. Xavier caught his arm before he fell to his death. Lying flat on the ground, Xavier was holding the two men: Ben with his left hand and John with his right. Though I could no longer see him, I heard him screaming, “Pull up!” as he hung over theedge.

I crawled on my hands and knees toward Xavier to help him with the rope, but I couldn’t domuch.

“I can’t hold both of them,” Xavier said, through gritted teeth.

“You let me go and my family will hunt you for the rest of your life,” Ben warned.

“You can’t let John die,” I urged.

“I don’t think this is even a choice,” Xavier said, underneath his breath.

Mateo managed to put out the fire and crawled toward the stray gun. The gun was on Xavier’s other side, and Mateo had a better chance at reaching the weapon than Idid.

“I’m sorry,” Xavier said to Ben, and let go of his hand. A scream followed by an obnoxious laugh echoed as Ben fell to his death. Holding onto the rope where John was hanging, Xavier rolled over toward the gun, snatched it up, and pointed it at Mateo, who stopped within two feet of us. Another second and our fate would have been sealed.

Holyshit!

“Wait, you can’t kill him!” I screamed. “One man has already died today. It’s enough.”

“He needs to die. He’ll come after us if he doesn’t. Come here,” Xavier ordered me. “Hold on to this gun. If he as much as moves, you shoot – do you understand me, Anna?”

I nodded, but I didn’t think he believedme.

“You shoot if he moves.” He then lowered his voice. “You’ve got Hope to think about.”

“Okay. If he moves, I’ll shoot.” I took the gun out of Xavier’s hand and aimed it at Mateo, who squirmed in pain. His legs were scorched, and he could barely stand on the right one. His pants were burnt through, and the skin on his thighs was seared. Pain brought out a redder shade on his face as he fought through it. As I pointed the gun at Mateo, Xavier pulled on the rope and dragged John up the cliff.

“Are you okay?” I calledout.

“Yes, I’m fine, but Ben…” He looked back over the edge of the canyon where the rope John hung onto carved into the soil. I followed his gaze to the limp body at the bottom. Blood pooled from underneath Ben’s corpse. I shut my eyes and said a quick prayer, but it didn’t take long for that vengeful part inside me to wonder whether anyone would ever hang his skeleton on awall.

“I had no choice.” Xavier came to my side and gently removed the gun from my grasp.

“Just like you’ve given me no choice,” Mateo threatened. “You know what this means?”

Whatever passed between the two men, it wasn’t good, and so Xavier adjusted hisaim.

“Wait – you can’t kill an unarmed man.” John stopped Xavier from pulling the trigger. “That’s murder.”

“Oh, yeah? Watch me.” Xavier once again aimed the gun at Mateo.

“Xavier, John’s right,” I whispered.

“You understand that if we let him live, he will hunt us for the rest of hislife?”

“Can you keep us safe?” I asked. “All ofus.”

I didn’t mention Hope, but I was sure he knew what I meant.

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