Page 65 of Twisted Throne

And saw Gia, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

“It’s me!” she whispered.

“Why the hell are you out here?” I hissed at her as I moved to her side. “I told you to go to the safe room!”

My ears were perked for any new sound, and my eyes darted around in the darkness, alert for any motion.

“I-I’m sorry. But I had to know you were okay. I couldn’t just wait.” She looked nervous, but her tone was firm.

Crunch.

I stepped in front of Gia without thought as I spun around to face the direction of the footstep.

“I can’t worry about you, and focus on getting this asshole at the same time.” I had my lips almost touching her ear so that I could try and keep my voice as low as possible. “Go back to the house, and stay quiet.”

I didn’t wait for an answer but stepped off of the gravel path to the soft mulch of the flower bed beside us, trying not to rustle the leaves.

With measured steps, I walked across the damp soil. I moved parallel to where I had heard the last footfall. If he knew someone was here, he would be trying to loop around me to come at me from behind. I was going to try to head him off and cover Gia’s retreat.

I melded into the shadows and moved slowly, but steadily.

There was a slight rustle to my right.

Good. I was at his flank.

I kept moving, staying as silent as possible. I stopped to listen once again.

Another soft, muffled footstep sounded out amongst the chirps of the crickets.

The sound was to my right side now, but ever so slightly behind me. He was headed straight toward Gia.

I made a split second decision and jumped back onto the gravel path. I ran straight ahead, bypassing two or three branches off of the main pathway.

The gravel sprayed out from beneath my feet, the clattering breaking the silence that hung overhead. I wanted to make certain that Emilio’s attention wasn’t caught by Gia’s retreat. No matter how quiet she thought she was, we killers could always sniff out our prey. And there was no doubt that he saw her as prey. But not for much longer.

The next noise I heard was from directly behind me, not too close, but coming up fast.

Good, he had followed me instead of Gia. Exactly what I’d wanted him to do.

Once I knew he was on my tail, I went silent again and stepped back into the flower beds. When I’d been running, he had as well. Now that I’d stopped, he’d mimicked me again. I kept the area where I’d last heard him fixed in my mind and began to double back the way I’d come. Hopefully, I could cut in behind him and take him out before the piece of shit even knew I was there. As much as I’d like to see him suffer, I’d rather see him dead and be done with it.

When I thought I’d backtracked far enough, I changed course and started to move left. I’d heard nothing else, but he had to be close.

There was a flash of movement ahead of me and a shot cracked through the air. I dove for cover behind a stone bench. His first shot went wide, but his next hit the ground beside the bench, spraying me with dirt. I didn’t have a decent shot at him from here, I was going to have to move.

“This is a goddamn new suit,stronzo!” I growled out. I darted a few feet away to a small cluster of trees. They wouldn’t offer a ton of cover, but enough.

He fired off another shot, hitting the bench.

“Come on now, Borrelli, don’t be like that. Come on out and we’ll talk.”

I could just make out his shadowy figure across from me. If I wanted a decent shot I’d have to draw him out closer to me than he was.

“Me? You were the one who decided to come play hide and fucking seek,vigiacco.” I taunted him.

He cursed under his breath and his shadow moved forward. I held steady.

One.