Page 111 of Once Kissed
“Sure you are,” the third man says, cutting me off. To the others he says, “We have to kill her fast.”
“Easy,” the driver says. “Too many witnesses out here. It don’t matter how much she’s paying us if we’re not around to spend it.”
“Sh-she?” I manage.
The men in the rear seats laugh. “Montenegro’s wife. Your man took away hers, she’s taking you away from him. Fair is fair, sweetheart.”
The car continues forward, accelerating enough to put some distance between us and the restaurant, but not enough to arouse suspicion from the cars on either side of us. I try to keep track of where we’re going, but each turn makes it more challenging.
We pass Franklin Square and make a left onto North 5th. Panic pounds the blood coursing through my veins, making me dizzy, and making it harder to focus. As far as I can tell, we’re near Penn’s Landing, but heading further away. Three more blocks, then another right. Jesus, where are we?
“Did you lose the tail?”
“Yeah. Back by Vine.”
“Good. Let’s get this done. Take the next left, and go straight past the old section of warehouses where we left the car.”
My heart pulverizes against my chest, its vicious beat flooding my ears. Curran and I are supposed to have lunch with his family tomorrow. We’re going to build a house, get married, have our first baby. How can my life be over, when it’s just begun?
“Please,” I beg, my terror splintering my voice. “I’m twelve weeks pregnant. Please don’t hurt me.”
“I said, shut up!”
My pleas earn me another jab to the head. But it’s the clicking sound that freezes me down to my bones.
“Oh, fuck,” the driver says. “Our tail’s back.”
The seat squeaks behind me and pressure eases from the base of my skull. “He alone?”
“Looks like it,” the driver answers.
“You sure?”
“Yes, asshole. There’s only one car.”
“Turn here,” the man behind me says. “Damnit, right here. We have to finish this shit now.”
“What about the tail?”
“We gotta kill him, too.”
No…please, no.
The driver pulls to the curb along a quiet street lined with crumbling buildings, stopping beneath an unlit light. Ahead of us in the cross street, cars speed along, but they’re too far and driving too fast to notice us. This is a place these men are familiar with. They’ve taken people here before.
I want to scream, run, and lash out. I don’t want anyone telling Curran I’m dead—that his baby and I are gone. I don’t want him to suffer—not after what he’s been through. But the hard metal digging into my skull reminds me that I may not be able to spare him from this.
The lights from the car behind us shine in the rearview mirror, illuminating the menacing stare of the driver and expanding as the car closes in. My hand inches toward the handle. It’s Lu—I’m sure of it. I have to warn her.
A gun rams into my ribs, keeping me in place and paralyzing me with fear.
“Don’t move—stay quiet or die quicker,” the driver mutters, pressing the barrel harder.
Terror stabs my racing heart like a dagger. I can’t breathe. I don’t want to die. Jesus Christ, I don’t want to die!
The familiar stomps of heavy boots close in before Lu appears at my passenger-side window, smiling. “Wassup, girlie? Boyfriend taking you for a joyride?”
I don’t see her raise her gun. I only see Curran, his first shot taking out the front window, and the driver.