Page 85 of Crybaby

I roll out of the car and don’t give Tillerman a chance to recover as I headbutt him—over and over again. I break his nose. And when he tries to shoot me, I hip and shoulder him to the ground, where I pin him with my body weight.

Dirt plumes into the air as we fight for dominance, scrambling to subdue the other. When he raises the gun, I use what I can, which is my mouth, and bite down on his wrist. I shake at it like a dog would at a bone, and when I taste blood, I know I’ve won.

The gun drops to the ground with a thud, followed by Tillerman’s pained cries echoing into the heavens.

With my hands still cuffed, I use the edge of my shoulder to siphon off his air supply as I press it against his throat. His hands smack at me while he wheezes for breath, but he’s going to lose.

Peering down at him, I smirk as I watch him straddle unconsciousness. “Oops.”

His face turns a beet red, his eyes bugging from his head, and as I press down harder on his Adam’s apple, he finally goes out cold.

I don’t have time to celebrate, however, because I can hear Darcie and Buzz fighting. Jumping up, I charge for Buzz and hip and shoulder him to the ground. He puts up a fight, and we scramble desperately, but I manage to pin him down.

“Darcie, get the keys!” I order because I can’t do jack shit while still cuffed.

Buzz tries to buck me off, but I use all my weight to keep him down.

Darcie slips and slides as she frantically runs over to Tillerman and yanks the keys from his belt. She has the good sense to also retrieve his fallen gun.

“Good girl,” I commend, slamming my head into Buzz’s face to subdue him.

I try to offer my hands so Darcie can unlock my cuffs, but Buzz keeps fighting. “Stop moving or so help me God, I will fucking shoot you.”

Darcie trains the gun onto Buzz, just how I taught her. I’m so proud.

He reads her seriousness and halts. Darcie is able to uncuff me, but we don’t have time to celebrate. I press my boot over Buzz’s throat as I stand over him and deliver the fate he deserves.

“No doubt your little friends are on the way.”

Darcie gasps, only just realizing the GPS on the car has been tracking our movements. They’ve already called it in, so asking Buzz to say he made a mistake and it wasn’t us he was arresting won’t stick, which means…we gotta run.

“Sucks to be you. You thought we were your meal ticket to a promotion but looks like you’ll be wiping shit and piss from the county jail cells for letting us go.”

Before he has a chance to speak, I drop to one knee and slam my fist into his face. He’s out cold.

I don’t have time to celebrate. I grab his gun and then Darcie’s hand.

However, it seems the shit show doesn’t want to end when I hear the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked. I don’t even think twice before I shove Darcie out of the way, where she falls into the dirt, and then I turn to face Tillerman as he fires from a gun he must have had hidden away.

My bad for not checking earlier.

He’s a lousy shot, but if I didn’t move Darcie, it would have hit her. That is enough incentive for me to pull back the hammer and shoot Tillerman in the kneecap without hesitation.

He drops the gun, and his howls echo in the darkness. “You’re lucky I didn’t aim higher, you piece of shit.”

Offering my hand to Darcie, I lift her, and we run toward the forest, which will be our sanctuary for a little while.

Our breaths ricochet between us, but we keep going because I know the place will be crawling with cops soon enough. When Darcie tires, I pick her up and run with her pressed to my bare chest, her slack arms looped around my nape. I don’t stop and continue running as I know there is an abandoned shack up ahead.

When I see it, I hope it’s empty because if not, I’ll have to use my gun.

The decayed door is hanging off one hinge, and when I walk up the rickety steps, they whine under the force. I peer inside, and the place is still a haven for the misfits.

The floor is littered with empty beer cans and cigarette butts, and it smells like cat piss. It looks to be empty. I gently lower Darcie to her feet and take a few breaths when I do.

“Fuck, that was close. I—”

I don’t get a chance to finish, however, because she steps into my chest and wraps her arms around me. “You almost took a bullet for me,” she says in awe.

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