Branded (Fall of Angels #1)(22)

The man we left behind screams out in pain. I almost wanna apologize, but we have no time.

Dixie seems confused as she keeps looking behind her. “What about that guard?”

“Forget about him,” I snap.

“But he’s your co-worker, right?” she says.

He is.

Or he was.

Because I don’t think I’m going to get away with this.

Once my uncle finds out what I’ve done, he’s going to kill me too.

Fuck!

I’m sure that guard has called the others already, so they must be on our tail. I evade the main hallways and move through staff only areas to avoid them. Everyone’s on the lookout for her right now, so I’ve gotta be careful.

Pure adrenaline is keeping me going right now. I feel like I’m on a high, but I know I’ll come crashing down soon. Damn. Why the fuck does this have to be so difficult?

Everything seems to fall apart around me. My job. My life.

Everything I knew.

In the midst of all the chaos, I’m battling my inner demons. Dixie Burrell, the one girl who got away, has shown up right on my doorstep, and now we’re stuck together. What the fuck am I going to do with her now?

If that fucking bomb of hers hadn’t exploded, she might’ve still had a shot at getting out of this situation. But now that part of the building is gone, my uncle will want retribution, and he’ll demand it in blood. Hers. And perhaps mine too while he’s at it.

I can’t let it happen.

Even though I hate her guts for what she did to me, I don’t want her to die. Yet.

But all my uncle’s guards are on the hunt for us right now, and I need to make sure they don’t find us. But where the fuck do I go?

The hotel isn’t safe anymore. There are cameras left and right, and I’ve already been caught on tape dragging her through the hallway. He knows I have her.

In a corner of a staircase, I come to a halt and run my fingers through my hair while still keeping my gun pointed at her. I need a second to breathe. Just one second to think, goddammit.

“Don’t. Move,” I hiss.

“I wasn’t planning to,” she retorts, crossing her arms. “So what’s your plan, huh?”

I don’t answer. She’s trying to get on my nerves to make me snap, but it won’t work.

I know she wants me to kill her. She’d rather die than face my uncle because he wouldn’t let her off the hook so easily.

But I’m not letting him have the honors. If anyone’s going to kill her, it’ll be me. End of story.

“Thinking of doing it?” she murmurs.

There’s a certain look in her eyes.

“Do it then,” she hisses through her teeth.

Suddenly, her hands are around my gun, and she buries the metal right between her tits, forcing me to focus on them. “C’mon then. Shoot.”

My jaw clenches, my throat tightening. My finger is on the trigger, ready to shoot. She deserves it. My life was altered forever because of her. She’s the cause of my misery. My pain. Everything that’s happened so far is her fault. And all of it has led up to this moment where I’m about to kill her.

Just one shot is all it takes. Bang.

A painful jab hits me in the stomach, forcing me to lower my gun.

I can’t go through with it. Not yet anyway. We still have some unfinished business.

The smirk that appears on her face infuriates me.

“You can’t do it …” she murmurs.

A wicked smile appears on my lips as I grasp her arm and tug her along. “I still might kill you.” I shove my gun into her side and force her to walk.

I know where to go. A motel not far from here will be the perfect place to hide from my uncle … and the perfect place for her to get what’s coming to her. “But first, we’re going to have some fun.”





Chapter Eleven





Dixie



He manages to lead me out of the hotel at gunpoint by keeping the damn thing hidden under a coat he stole from the hotel lobby. Damn smartass.

Now we’re outside and he hoists me into his truck, which he slams shut and locks before I can get out. I’m in the back seat with a thick, plastic partition between us. Probably to keep something—or someone—away from the driver. It’s almost as if he prepared for this.

Was he hired by his uncle to regularly kidnap people or something? Sheesh.

A few men scramble outside the hotel, gawking around, probably looking for me.

Brandon responds by changing gears and ramming his foot on the gas, speeding off.

It’s not before they spot us, though, and they all come running after us. Gunshots are fired, and some bullets pierce the metal. I duck for cover while Brandon makes a U-turn on the parking lot to avoid the upcoming security. He drives straight through a bush to get to the other side of the road and then speeds off.

When I sit up and look at him, there’s an alarming amount of sweat on his forehead.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

I don’t understand why he cares, but I nod anyway.

He doesn’t say another word and slams his lips shut while glaring equally at both me and the road. I guess he hasn’t made up his mind yet.

I don’t know where he’s taking me, but I do know one thing. He’s going against his own uncle’s wishes, so that means something.