Page 52 of Cruel Redemption

Finally, Ciro jumped to his feet. The man he had attacked was lifeless on the ground. But we were already outnumbered with the new group.

Ciro pulled his gun. He aimed it for the men running.

“Stay out of the way,” I urged Enzo. “We’ll get out of here.” He wasn’t armed, and there wasn’t time to give him another gun. I just needed him to stay down.

Enzo almost fell trying to make it to the wall on his own. He was in bad shape. It would take Ciro and me to haul him out of here. The injuries looked like they would heal on the surface. We could fix a broken foot. We could stitch his ear.

The gunshots started and I knew if I didn’t fire back, I was a sitting duck. I took position next to Ciro, kneeling and shooting. I emptied a round, and I realized the men weren’t running anymore. I didn’t know who or how many I shot.

“They’re down.” Their flashlights rolled on the stone floor. “Let’s move,” I ordered.

“I’ll flank you,” Nikoli announced.

Ciro groaned. He was hunched over. I hadn’t noticed that the giant wasn’t standing anymore.

“You okay?” I asked.

When he raised his head, I saw the blood spreading across his shirt.

“You got hit. Fuck, Ciro.”

He sounded like an angry bear. He pushed me away. “It’s nothing. I think it went straight through.”

“Nothing my ass.” I pushed back to see if he had been grazed or if the bullet had gone through like he thought. “It’s your shoulder.” I pointed the flashlight near his shoulder blade. “I think it did go through.”

He shook his head. “Let’s just get him out. There could be more on the way. I’ll take something for it when we’re home.” He tried to push off the ground. I offered him my hand. His palm clasped on to mine and I lifted the heavy man to his feet. Two more Bratva soldiers appeared and tried to help him, but Ciro recoiled.

“You good?”

“Yeah. Just get him.” His voice cracked with the pain. He cradled his arm.

“Enzo, we’ve got a little walk, man.” I wanted to downplay it. If he had any idea how long it was going to take us to get to the freight elevator, I might have a hard time convincing to move on that broken foot. Our group was banged up. I knew I was going to have to carry him myself with the kind of shape Ciro was in.

Enzo didn’t answer.

“Enzo, you ready?” I asked. I spun the light around. I didn’t want to blind the guy, but maybe he had fallen back past the tarp the guards used to conceal their location in the tunnel. I had to give it to them. It blocked light and if someone did come this far, they wouldn’t know it was there.

“I’ll help you and now we have to get the Neanderthal out,” I joked. “God, Katya is going to be so happy to see you?—”

I stopped.

I stopped talking. I stopped thinking. I dropped to my knees. I pressed my fingers to his neck. I don’t know why I did it. Was I supposed to confirm what I already knew? There was a bullet hole on the side of his head and one on his chest. His eyes were open. Vacant. But I did it anyway. I held them there firmly planted against his artery, waiting for a pulse. For a twinge. A single breath of hope.

“No,” I whispered. “Katya needs you. You can’t…you can’t do this. You have a baby that needs you.”

I sat next to his body. I couldn’t think of what to do. I couldn’t believe it. Did I dare offer up a pray? Did I beg God to rewind the clock and take me instead of him? Did I bargain and barter with my soul? Did God even want it anymore?

“We need to move him.” Ciro startled me.

“Give me a second.” I pinched my fingers between my eyes.

“I’ll do it for you.” Ciro put his hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head. “You can’t. You’re bleeding. We need to get you out of here.” It was hard to tell without much light, but I thought Ciro looked more pale than usual.

“Fuck.” I kicked the ground. “We were supposed to save him.” I crouched on the ground. What if Katya didn’t survive this? What if this broke her? What about the baby? No. No. I shook Enzo.

“Come on, man. Just take a breath and we’ll do the rest,” I pleaded.

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