Page 55 of Dark Ink

Before I can make her angrier, something dings on the car, making us both duck.

“They’re shooting at us!” Tanya’s voice betrays her surprise. She really thought we were safe.

Another shot rings out and this time, the car swerves.

“Did they hit a tire?” I ask, checking the phone to make sure we’re still sharing our location. We are, but who knows how long Ivo will be.

“Yes! I can’t control the car now,” she shouts, but her foot is still planted on the gas. She has no intention of stopping.

In the side mirror, I see the swarm of men in black are running behind us. Three of them have their arms outstretched, shooting at us like it’s the Fourth of July.

Tanya and I slide down the seats. I’m not sure she can’t see where we’re going, so we’re either going to crash into something soon, or we’ll lose another tire. Either way, it’s game over.

I keep looking in the mirror, searching for Jenya and Koschei. They must have hidden somewhere.

I dial Ivo again. He picks up instantly.

“We’re on the way.” The sounds of driving muffle his voice.

A shot that breaks Tanya’s side mirror makes her scream.

“What the fuck? Stay alive, damn it,” Ivo shouts down the phone.

“We’re trying. Where are you?” I know I sound like a child, but I want to live.

“Ten minutes. Fifteen max. Hang in there, man.”

I don’t get the chance to reply because the car drifts and I drop the phone. It falls somewhere under my seat as I’m violently hit in the face by an airbag.

Dazed, my world shakes and spins and explodes in sound. I’ve never been in a car crash or a shootout—two for one deal today. I only hope I live long enough to tell the story.

After a second, everything goes still. There is nothing—no light, no noise, no feeling. The only sensation I have is my chest rising and falling. I’m breathing. I’m alive.

“We have to get out of the car.” Tanya’s voice is far away.

Something warm and clammy nips at my wrist.

I open my eyes, the vividness of reality returning to me like a wave. Then screams, banging, and Tanya’s rapid breathing enter my ears and strike my brain like ice picks.

There are at least ten men jumping on the car and hitting it, destroying the front window and trying to get the doors open. My splitting headache pulsates with the rhythm of their attacks.

The smoke coming out of the car sobers me up, Tanya’s words finally registering.Fuck, the car could explode.

“How do we get out?” I croak, my throat seizing up.

“We just bulldoze through them,” Tanya says and turns to rummage in the back seat. “I’m ready.”

A bittersweet smile tugs my lips upward. “You really like that shelf, don’t you?”

“It’s the only weapon I have!”

Like a power of nature, she pushes the driver’s door open with her legs, throwing a couple of men off-balance. Her feet find the ground quickly, and her shelf finds its next victim.

“Into the fray,” I whisper to myself, trying to psych myself up. I have no shelf, though, and my legs feel like jelly, so I’m not as graceful as Tanya on my way out.

I put all my strength into pushing the door, which does open a path for me, but after that, my lack of fighting ability becomes clear once again. I swing and miss, almost falling to my feet. Someone laughs beside me, then they grab a fistful of my hair, yanking my face upward.

I gasp in pain, my head pounding. The men in front of me double, then triple, then disappear into darkness.

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