Page 23 of Poisonous Kiss
“What the fuck am I thinking?” I ask myself.
This is my opportunity to get out. He’s inside dealing with whatever he’s dealing with. I don’t have to kill him. I can just run. I’ll figure out the issue of having exactly zero dollars to my name later. I take a deep breath, open the passenger side door, and creep out. I don’t bother to close the door as I stay hunched.I press my body to the side of the car and make my way toward the back. Thankfully, Ezra decided to park in between two cars, so now I have some extra coverage to get away. I turn left once I get to the back of the car and turn to look over my shoulder. I want to make sure that no one is coming. When I turn back to make a run for it, I realize I am looking straight into a black shirt. I look up and don’t recognize the man standing before me.
“Uh, who are you?” I ask.
The man grins and the next thing I know, there’s a bag over my head.
I try to fight as I’m hauled away. I am wiggling, throwing my arms and legs around as they’re trying to trap them by my body. Someone has a hand over my mouth, so although I scream as loud as I can, it comes out muffled. I manage to throw my head back and hit something hard. There is a sickening crunch when I do, so I assume I broke something. If the crunch wasn’t enough of a thought, the “fuck” makes me think my assumption is correct.
Not long after I manage to make contact, the original hand leaves, and something more padded replaces it. I inhale a sweet-pungent smell and then it really goes dark.
CHAPTER 13
Ezra
Thirty minutes before the incident
“Father!” I call whenI walk into the house. I keep my gun hidden away for now. I don’t want my plan to be foiled before I get the chance to see his recognition.
I walk into his study to find him there with his righthand, Vincent, standing by his side. I wave him off so there is no confusion about where the loyalty lies. He walks out of the room as I walk to the wet bar in the corner of the room. I pour myself a finger of whiskey before turning to my sperm donor.
“Want some?” I ask.
“Long day I see?” he responds. He makes that comment yet gives me a nod to get him some as well.
“I wanted to discuss some things with you,” he continues.
I sit down across the desk from him and cross my ankle over my knee. I’m glad I got something to drink.
“I have Briar’s father and men coming to the house soon, and I was hoping you could help me with killing him.”
As soon as he finishes that sentence, a loud bang sounds off in the living room. I drop my glass, get behind the chair, and pull out my gun.
“What the fuck is going on?” I yell at my dad.
More shouting and shots come from the other side of the door.
I make my move. I get up from my hiding spot and run toward the office door. I stop around the corner and peek my head around. Briar’s father’s men are shooting my father’s men.
I step out and aim. One down, two, three, then shots back at me. I step back to my position behind the wall and wait for a break in the firing. My mind goes through the scenarios of what could go wrong and what I can do to fix those possibilities. I’m also trying to figure out what is happening when I practically stumble back with a thought that crosses my mind. My River is in the car waiting for me. It feels like my stomach has fallen out of my ass. I look back to see my father standing from behind his desk. He stands, and almost as quickly, he’s shot. I watch the blood start to leak from his mouth as he looks down at the bullet hole in his chest. He looks back at me before falling tothe ground. I was annoyed at the inconvenience of a shoot-out before, but now I am pissed. They took my fucking kill.
Vincent comes back through the door, and I lift my gun and point it at him before I realize who it is. Once I do, I drop it.
“Cover me. Riv—I mean, Briar is in the car waiting for me. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
I drop my mag to see how many rounds I have left, only five. I look back to Vincent, he juts his chin out and I step out of the room with my gun drawn. Vincent is covering my six, both of us moving as one, covering every part of our way through the house to the front door.
Vincent calls out, “Two o’clock.”
I turn slightly to my right and see one guy coming forward with his gun aimed at us. I pull the trigger first. We’re stepping over bodies, trying not to trip while we’re keeping an eye out.
Vincent starts firing at someone behind me, and I keep moving forward. I need to get to the car as fast as possible. I have a feeling something is wrong.
I make it out the front door and book it to the car. I immediately see that her door is open. I round the front to the passenger side and peer in, only to find it empty.
“FUCK!”
I scream. I slam the car door closed with such force that the windows rattle. I’m seething and drive a fist into the window. It cracks the window and busts my knuckles. I flex my hand and savor the pain that is coming with it.
