Page 65 of Breathe
Bang!
The man fired again, and this time the bullet was closer, punching into the ground.
“Run.” Azrael grabbed Rebel and Boston and pushed them toward the side of the house.
“Fierce! Will you stop shooting!” Freedom demanded.
The big man cocked his head to the side and sliced those pale blue eyes at Freedom and finally stopped shooting.
Azrael stood near the side of the house with Rebel and Boston, unsure if he should move them or not. The smell of gunpowder lingered in the air, and Azrael was glad Rebel hadn’t pulled his own gun.
They could have all ended up dead in a shootout.
The two additional blades Azrael carried on his own person remained tucked away unseen, and he left them there.
He didn’t want to add to the tension when both groups faced off against each other. Freedom and Fierce on one side, and he, Boston, and Rebel on the other.
“They’re assassins,” Freedom murmured.
“From Solomon,” Azrael added, knowing that Freedom would recognize the name.
Freedom’s nostrils flared and his throat moved with a hard swallow.
Fierce glared. “Where is that sick fuck? Tell me right now!” The words were spoken low and guttural… sounding all the more lethal with the charged way they filled the cool, damp air.
“He’s dead,” Azrael said softly. “I killed him.”
“He is? You did?” Freedom stammered.
“Why did you use Solomon’s name as a reference on your profile?” Azrael asked, puzzled as it became clear that both Freedom and Fierce hated Solomon.
“To draw him out, to have him contact us so I could kill that motherfucker,” Fierce answered, still holding the gun on them, but the weapon began to slightly lower.
“Solomon’s been dead almost two years,” Azrael said.
“Tanis is dead too,” Boston said, coming from behind him and Rebel.
Freedom shuddered at the name.
“Real killed Tanis last year,” Azrael offered.
“I heard about Tanis being dead,” Fierce said flatly. “But not about Solomon.”
“How did you hear about what happened to Tanis?” Azrael asked.
Fierce gave him a flat, hard stare and didn’t answer.
“Didn’t you serve with someone named Real?” Freedom blurted out, looking at Fierce, sounding confused.
Fierce glared at the tiny blond. Freedom’s eyes went wide, and he slapped his hands over his mouth.
“Oops.” The word came out muffled.
Fierce cleared his throat and turned those pale, cold eyes on Azrael. “You do know that Tanis had a partner, right? A blood brother who did the same fucked up shit,” Fierce growled, his mouth pulled tight.
“What… no. I didn’t know,” Azrael said, but his mind churned.
“Yeah, a brother who is out there doing the same terrible things to kids,” Freedom whispered. “You guys only took out part of the problem when you killed Tanis.”
