CHAPTER 9
CRISTOBAL'S POV
"Shhhh—Let's go, she beckoned, her voice soft and gentle. But the effect was potent, edging me back to my senses.
"Alright", I agreed and instantly proceeded to climb with her.
Our bodies swayed side by side, elbows nearly grazing against each other as the heat of her breath briefly singed the side of my neck.
"Santiago is already by the door... All we have to do is----"
BANG!!
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A sharp bang sliced the space between us, blazing through until the shot cratered the wall in front of us. Meanwhile, I ducked hands on head, feet climbing faster than before--- Ava's were even faster as glimpses of her feet scrambling flashed at the corner of my eye.
Then, a familiar clack prepped my ears for another round, but I was ready this time, surrendering my body to the instinct taking control of my body.
And it guided me each time I struck an arm through the handrails and released--two bullets for every landing we reached.
The exchange lasted until his bullets sprayed thin, and all three of us were able to squeeze into the main floor. Our breaths meshing into one heaving thud, the moment we backed against the door.
However, we didn't stay like that for long because we all spun around at different points, each person prying their ears to the rhythm of a madman's stomping boots.
Ava had leaned beside me, her nose slightly nudging against the steel surface of the door. Her breath was sharp and rapid like an unloading rifle, caressing my nape with a fevered heat that only served to make me question if the ground floor had ever been this warm.
I was almost about to load a complementary remark, maybe later throw in a weatherman joke by the side, but with a swivelling turn and her back to me, Ava had practically avoided the laws of gravity, shutting me up way before the nonchalant wave of her pistol chased the flustered couple seated by our right.
While her eyes spoke volumes, my heart skipped a bit, hoping they got the message.
And they did, skedaddling away hand in hand, their backs disappearing beyond the bar.
It was almost comical, but we weren't throwing comical looks at ourselves. Instead, what came next was just a fluid motion of hands working to move that same couch and round table against the door, barricading it.
After that, it was all a dash for our dear lives.
Santiago even scurried beside me, almost bumping into my side while I yelled out to any bystander to clear out of the building, which wasn't hard to do as rounds of bullets ripping past our barricade seemed to carry a message much clearer.
The lunatic was trying to shoot his way out, and from the power that emanated from that muzzle, it won't be long before he gets out.
Nonetheless, we still marched forward whilst I took the lead, only pulling to a stop once we got out of the exit door. The obstacle was a massive hulk of a man so broad, his shoulders nearly spread across the entire breadth of the two-way door frame. It was a good thing he was on our side. God knows the lengths we would go through just to get past him.
"Is Kayla ready??!!!--- what about Damian, is he set??!!!", I yelled out, face turned sideways, trying to filter out the hysteria behind us, but the bludgeoning thud of feet proved rather challenging, forcing me to lean in once more to catch what he was saying.
"Yes!!! --- She is just three blocks off Wythe Avenue. Damian's already down at the docks, so you guys must get there fast." He replied without a raise in his deep, booming voice, "Hey, you need help smashing this moron?!".
"Thanks—Wait, no!!!! Listen to me, Steve. Listen to me. Don't get involved past this. Go home, Steve. Go home!!"
My warning was short of breath throughout its tenure, but it still hit home because before we could fully nod each other goodbye, he was already out of my sight, hurtling down the street in powerful strides.
"Why didn't you kill me, querida--- You know those people wouldn't rest until I am dead."
Santiago stood beside me, his chestnut eyes probing questions, expecting my response---And my answer --- Unfortunately drowned in the deafening interjection of steel and anything in between.
The blast bellowed from deep inside the club, volleying the shatter of wood across. I could already imagine the flurry of furniture gunned apart—tables snapped, couches ripped to pieces, and everything right before the final crowd stampeded out in spades.
A young lady even crashed into Ava, head on her chest, arms looping her waist—the whiff of whiskey stinging me as I crouched beside her. I saw Ava about to squirm away, but the lady tore herself first, screaming at the top of her voice.
"HE'S OUT!!!" "HE'S OUT!!!"
The moment I heard "he", she hurled off into the alley, legs swinging back and forth, already leaving both of us behind for a second before we followed instantly, chasing after her voice as she yelled orders from ahead.
"Run faster", she said, over and over again, like we had any other choice. She didn't, I didn't, and I damn well knew Santi had the biggest pie, acknowledging this, too. I guess it was why he charged so fast beside me, his legs pumping viciously as we sprinted through the alley's maze.
My mouth moved in silent prayer, acknowledging that if ever was a time for God's miracle, this was it. Unfortunately, Santiago seemed to rather be using this time to berate me like an angry parent would a meddlesome child.
"Oh, you little shit. Of course, why am I shocked? I should have known you were trouble the moment you walked in".
"Like Taylor Swift"
"Ohhh!! Fuck you!"
Santiago cursed, but the words just rolled off as an exhausted breath. A snicker nearly squeezed through my nose if not the look he shot me, forcing the rest to fall back in.
I was just about to tease him again before Ava cut us off, reeling us back to the main objective.
"I think I see a car parked along this exit, it has a cherry top, wait, why does it have a---, wait—Is that a--"
" A Dodge Charger?!?!?"
"No, a cop car, Santi. Let's move, that's got to be Kayla". I clarified to both, not that they did not seem to care. Santi, particularly because he didn't waste a breath peeling off my side.
His sprint curved along the sleek outline of the bumper, just missing the front before he swung the other door, launched himself across, then pried the other door open.
"So much for chivalry." My remark reached out just as Ava and I were about to try and fail to squeeze through at once, coaxing the whole crew to curse out of what I could presume to be frustration.
I guessed that Kayla was probably the loudest. Her words were mostly incoherent, but they all carried one single understanding ... Don't freakin mess with her car, no matter how--- Suspicious it might have looked.
The rest were a blur if you asked me. Besides, I was too busy being a gentleman, stepping aside to reluctantly allow her to pass.
And all I got before she launched herself into the passenger seat was a fleeting wink over her right shoulder, eyes laced with mischief--- the blue in it capturing the lunar beams from above, merging until an azure mix glinted so brightly, my neck almost twisted turning away from her.
Ooooffffhh. That was quickly becoming our thing, she would tease, and I would quip back in response. However, the urge to do so now somehow took back seat to the tingling impulse ringing in my ear, rising rapidly until Santiago erupted.
"We've got company!!!"
In a split second, I was sure it wasn't by my will that I was yanked into the car, landing belly first onto something soft, which I presumed to be the couch.
If only... Indeed, the instant I heard Ava's raspy and rather intimate "Get off" reach out from beneath, it suddenly hit me that my entire face had been buried deep between the rigid clasp of her twin ----"
I shot back on my knees, throwing my neck wide to avoid any dipping glance, or any glance at all, until a blaring roar from the other end commanded my attention again.
Then, from the darkness beyond came a charging vehicle. Its intent--pulsating, twisting even. A feeling morbidly resemblant to the manner the sleek chunk of metal zig-zagged through the cramped alley.
The headlights beamed closer now—Too close for comfort, hence the reason why our floral embrace became a distant memory once I charged my chords, tuning every breath with an ascending volume.
"Oh shit! Go, go, go, go, go!!!!" I spoke, and she reacted almost immediately, with the back seat rightfully sunk under our collapsed weight, barely veiling the roar of the engine as the tires instantly screeched into the moderately packed traffic stretched across Wythe Avenue.
We charged, and the ominous chunk of metal followed. The mild gridlock in front obscures our view, making it difficult to gain a significant gap over him.
I had my knees bent on my seat, back turned to the rear view mirror while I watched the SUV barrel forward.
In spite of this, he still never really gained on us, and that was because of Kayla's driving.
I didn't need to see her expertly weave through the gaps between vehicles to know. Her maestro was really the only thing that kept him apart.
She was even having fun. It was so obvious in her voice whenever she "Whoohed" excitedly. And she repeated it so much , it incited Santi to ask, his wobbling head lingering in front of Ava when he muffled.
"Is she always so .... Extra"
"Now, you know how it has been partnering with Cris this entire time", Ava answered after our eyes briefly locked, her face struggling to hide the twitching curve of her lips. As for myself, well... I was already preparing the perfect comeback when our vehicle tipped left, and stole my reaction.
Time froze while a reflection of my face formed across the mirror. We pitched in the same direction— My image and I tilting sideways, forcing me to face the truth storming behind: The man I had failed to put down
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