Mikhail

6

Someone was trying to kill us. Or rather, someone was trying to kill her.

Montse yelled. Covering her, I dived behind a large tree, slewing in midair so that I cushioned the fall.

Quickly switching positions, I made sure she was well shielded by the tree and I was in front of her before pulling out my gun.

Her eyes widened at the gun in my hand but she seemed too shocked and confused to ask anything. I roved my eyes through the bushes and trees of the fast darkening woods as the shots continued.

Whoever was shooting at us was definitely an amateur.

I let my hearing and my sight fuse, watching the direction where the bullets were coming from. The person shooting at us was in all black, partially hiding behind a tree.

As if realizing where he was wasn't granting him the angle of precision, he attempted to dive to another spot.

I saw my opportunity and delivered one clear shot to his leg. In front of me, Montserrat winced and covered her ears.

A scream of pain echoed among the trees. I couldn't be sure that there was only one shooter so I waited for a while. When no more gunshots followed, I jerked from my crouching position and sprinted towards the tree behind the person had ducked behind.

I had no doubt that he was sent by Mateo and his mother. I would deal with the two idiots later after blowing this guy's brains out.

He was no longer behind the tree. I spotted him rushing through the trees in the distance, limping as he ran on pure adrenaline.

I was hot on his tail. Just when I thought I had him in a spot where I could deliver one precise shot, a car appeared in my view.

The guy immediately dived through the opened door. The car had obviously been waiting for him because the driver drove away immediately.

I contemplated going for my motorbike and chasing down the bastards, but I realized that I couldn't leave Montserrat alone. Not in the state she was in. The attack on us had put her into shock.

I immediately ran back to where I'd left her. She was hugging her knee, looking stunned. I crouched in front of her and cupped her face, burning with unadulterated rage.

“You can't stay here.”

She obviously didn't have to ask me to know why. Someone was trying to kill her and it was a fact she couldn't deny.

I held her by the hand and managed to bring her to her feet but she couldn't seem to walk. Her legs were shaking. I'd never seen her this scared.

*****

“Goddamnit, put me down! I said I can walk perfectly.”

Montserrat struggled feebly in my arms as I closed the door behind me and headed for one of the couches in my living room.

“Yeah, say that to the floor when you hit your face on it.” I gruffed.

We reached the living room, and I set her down gently into a sitting position.

“You're so embarrassing. Everybody was staring at us!” She said grouchily, crossing her arms on her chest.

“To begin with, my next door neighbour is half a kilometer away. Nobody saw me picking you up.”

I sat beside her on the couch, feeling awkward all of a sudden. I knew how she was feeling, but I didn't know how to address it.

It didn't take long for her to break the silence. “Do you know my mum was always complaining about my singing? She said it was loud and ear breaking and my chatter was never ending but I knew that whenever I was away it was the very reason why she would miss me and my friends used to complain too but...”

She kept on talking without a pause. I knew she was putting up a facade, trying to act like everything was okay when the truth was that the threat on our lives had shook her to her core and threatened to turn her into a shadow of herself.

“Montse. . . Montse.” She still didn't stop blabbering until I cupped her face and said much louder. “Montserrat!”

She shut up instantly, then tried to look away. I was having none of it, forcing her to look into my eyes. Her blue eyes held a gut-wrenching fear.

“You don't have to pretendvl with me.” I told her pointedly.

Suddenly, her lips broke into a gut-wrenching tremble and she grabbed me by the collar of my jacket.

“Why? I don't. . . I don't get it. Why do they want  to kill me? I know I'm not the best person. . .  but I try to be a good person. Why would anybody want me dead?”

Her grip became tighter, her blue eyes appealing to me for answers I didn't want to give. I wasn't sure she would believe me I told her it was Mateo who was after her life unless I explained to her I was an assassin, something I totally didn't want to do.

I felt like knives were poking me in every part of my body. I felt helpless because I so badly wanted to take away the fear in her eyes and replace it with the light and boisterousness which defined the real her.

But wanting to and being able to were two different things.

Right then, I did what I hadn't done in more than a decade; I hugged someone, I hugged a woman, I hugged her. She broke down into tears in my arms and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“I don't get it... I don't get it.” She kept on whispering.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

I shifted gently and set her down so that I didn't wake her. I straightened and stared down at her, at the fear evident on her face even in her sleep.

I brushed away some strands of her brunette her which had fallen on her face.

God she was beautiful.

I chastised my self immediately. This was the last thing I should be thinking about at the moment.

I crossed over to the wall and pulled off a portrait of the sea, revealing the door to a large safe where I kept some of my weapons.

Typing in the pass code, I opened the safe and took some bullets. I made sure my Glock was fully loaded, simmering with a thirst for vengeance. Mateo and Rita had better prepare to go to hell.

Literally.

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