Invincible(14)

Rose turned. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Deserve it. What if I didn’t deserve it? What if it was just…”

Her chin quivered.

I touched her chin, again. “We don’t know each other, sweetie. But I don’t just randomly take bullets for someone. People want you dead and maybe I can help you. You said your father was involved with fighting. My brother was… he was killed in a fight. I’ve been trying to find out who did it for years. Tell me everything you know. Everything you’ve ever seen.” My eyes, my focus, everything suddenly just went to Shane’s death. To knowing all the truth. “That’s what I want from you. I saved you so do this for me.”

“You only saved me after you tried to kill me.”

“I didn’t try…”

More tears fell from Rose’s eyes. This was my curse. My ability to destroy life all around me. Including my own. I shouldn’t have taken the picture. I shouldn’t have went to the address. I shouldn’t have done anything for Rose. My throbbing shoulder proved it. My throbbing heart. My throbbing dick.

And as if things could get any more f*cked up, my apartment door exploded open, sending both myself and Rose stumbling to the ground. When I turned my head, two men were standing there with guns.



~



“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Tommy pointed to Rose but kept his gun on me. I climbed to my feet and grabbed Tommy by the wrist. I broke his hold on the gun and then took out the clip.

“Can’t you f*cking knock?” I asked.

“No. Not when my ass is about to get fried. What the f*ck is she doing here?”

Rose kicked back, shaking her head.

The other guy - someone I’ve never seen before - walked over to Rose and kept his weapon on her.

“Hey, hey,” I yelled. “Stop this. This isn’t happening.”

Tommy eyed my shoulder. “Where the f*ck is your shirt? And what happened to your shoulder?”

“Just an accident,” I said. “None of your damn business. Leave Rose alone right now. Call Aton. Let me talk to him.”

“Yeah, sure,” Tommy said. He then grabbed my shoulder, and squeezed, sending fresh wild pain through my body. “You can talk to him after I talk to him first. Tell him that the woman who was supposed to be killed was in your apartment. How are you going to explain that one?”

“Please,” Rose said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Get her the f*ck up and out of here!” Tommy yelled.

The other guy grabbed Rose by the hair. I turned and ran for the guy. My natural instinct was always fight mode which was survival mode, meaning I’d hurt myself to stay alive. My shoulder barreled into the guy. I speared him to the ground, but then felt a paralyzing pain as I had hit him with my bad shoulder. I tried to swing, but I couldn’t move my arm at the moment.

“Wes!” Tommy yelled. “I’ll f*cking put a bullet in the back of your head.”

I rolled over and sat up. Tommy was there, his gun reloaded, pointed at me. There was an evil fire in his eyes. He took his work personally, just like I did when I was in the circle, fighting. So if Rose’s car blew up, that was good, but the fact that she wasn’t in it made it very bad.

The other guy got to his feet and went for Rose again.

“Don’t f*cking touch her hair,” Tommy said. “Bring her in alive and well. Let Aton finish it. So he can see I did my job.” Tommy then looked at me and clicked his teeth together. “You f*cking rat, Wes. You’re going to get flushed down a sewer.”

I held my shoulder and watched as they forced Rose out of my apartment.

A day ago, I was supposed to kill Rose.

Now… I had to find a way to save her.





7.


(Rose)



I didn't know what to do. My car was supposed to explode with me inside it. Luke had completely lost his mind and gone off the deep end. Two men tried to shoot at me - hitting Wes instead. Then I was taken by Wes, promised safety, only to be taken by two different men.

They put me in the back of a black car, leaving my hands and feet unrestrained.

The one guy - Tommy - got into the driver’s seat.

He turned, smiled, and showed me his gun. “Look at it this way. You’re supposed to be dead. So enjoy your last ride. If you make a f*cking move, say a f*cking word, or just generally piss me off at all, I’m going to shoot you and kill you. So it’s really up to you. This is your chance to extend your life by a few hours. Got it?”

I didn’t say a word. I looked out the window.

They took me to a building, much like the buildings I used to go to all the time. I half expected to find a fight ready to go inside, but it was eerily empty. The door slammed shut with an echoing thud. The place smelled of age and rust. The two guys were close to me, bumping their shoulders to mine, leaving me feeling icky. I hated them. I hated everything. I hated Wes, too. Why did he even bother to help me? Just so I could get caught? Is that what it was? An even bigger set up?

I swallowed hard, processing it all.

I was supposed to be in the car. I was supposed to blow up. If Wes found out I wasn’t in the car, he tracked me down. Tricked me into going with him. Just so I could get caught and taken here. Whatever this was.